1958-05-27

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS


Right Hon. J. G. Diefenbaker (Prime Minister):: Mr. Speaker, I was saddened and shocked today to learn of the death yesterday of Colonel George Flint while in the course of his official duties he was investigating an incident between the Jordanians and the Israelis on Mount Scopus at Jerusalem. Colonel Flint was a brave and conscientious Canadian officer and a loyal servant of the United Nations, who during his period of service with the United Nations truce supervision organization had won a reputation for impartiality and clearsightedness in a particularly thankless and difficult task.
The tragedy of this event is further underlined by the fact that not long ago United Nations authorities, in recognition of his "outstanding work as chairman of the Israeli-Jordanian mixed armistice commission" and his special responsibilities for the Mount Scopus area, had requested a year's extension of his term of service with the United Nations.
His death represents a grievous loss both to the United Nations and to the Canadian army, and I am sure hon. members in all parts of the house will join in conveying to his wife and family our deepest sympathy.


Hon. L. B. Pearson (Leader of the Opposition):: Mr. Speaker, may I associate myself on behalf of our party with what the Prime Minister has so fittingly said about this tragic event. Colonel Flint died in the service of peace and good relations among peoples, and our deepest sympathies go out to his wife and his family at this time.


Mr. H. W. Herridge (Kootenay West):: Mr. Speaker, may I, on behalf of this group, endorse the comments made by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on this sad occasion. We express our sympathy with the relatives who are left behind and our admiration for a man who has lost his life working for peace.


RUSSIA-SUGGESTED EXCHANGE OF PARLIAMENTARIANS
[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Mr. Frank Howard (Skeena):: Mr. Speaker, may I direct a question to the Secretary of State for External Affairs. Perhaps, in his absence, it can go on the record and be taken as notice.
In view of the opinions expressed by the recently returned businessmen's delegation to Russia and the great need for mutual understanding among nations, will the Secretary of State for External Affairs undertake to reopen the question of an exchange of parliamentary delegations between the Soviet union and Canada, which apparently died an unnatural death in February, 1956?



REQUEST FOR REPORT ON POLITICAL


[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Lester Bowles Pearson: Mr. Speaker, I should like to ask the Prime Minister whether he could give the house any report on the developments in France, which we have all been following with great interest and with some anxiety.


John George Diefenbaker: Mr. Speaker, with the view expressed by the Leader of the Opposition that the events in France are being followed with deep anxiety, I am fully in agreement but I am sure the hon. gentleman would agree with me that at this time it might be most inappropriate for any observation to be made on the situation. Possibly in a day or so I shall be in a position to give the house a report that might be helpful.


Mr. Hazen Argue (Assiniboia):: May I address a supplementary question to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister say whether Admiral Auboyneau of the French navy, in fully supporting the military revolt against the French government and in ordering French warships under his command to leave the Mediterranean area where NATO exercises are in progress, is contravening any order of NATO supreme commander General Norstad? Has the Prime Minister any comment to make on this particular aspect of the matter?

Inquiries of the Ministry


Mr. Speaker:: Order. I think the hon. member is going rather beyond the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister to whom he is addressing his question. A minister submits himself to questions on matters under his control. It seems to me that this question is beyond his scope.


Hazen Robert Argue: I wonder if the Prime Minister would make any comment on how the situation in France at this time affects NATO, in which all of us are so greatly interested.


John George Diefenbaker: I think the answer I gave the Leader of the Opposition might be amplified in this case to the point of adding that any observations made in this parliament might be unhelpful and might, indeed, be detrimental.



CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAYS


[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Mr. Harold E. Winch (Vancouver East):: Mr. Speaker, I should like to direct a question to the Minister of Transport. Has the minister received a telegram from the president and secretary of the C.N.R. local federation at Port Mann, which has been sent to him in view of the fact that there is to be a continued lay-off beginning this week end at that place and other centres in British Columbia, asking the interest of the minister and the government in preventing such lay-offs?


Hon. George H. Hees (Minister of Transport):: Mr. Speaker, I have received that communication. As I have advised the house on many occasions, the matter of employment comes completely under the control of the management of the C.N.R., not of the government.



AGRICULTURE


[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Mr. Samuel Boulanger (Drummond-Arlhabaska):: Mr. Speaker, I wish to direct a question to the Minister of Agriculture. If he cannot answer my question today perhaps he would be in a position to answer it tomorrow. My question is in three parts, as follows:
1,	What have been the monthly purchases and disposals by the government with respect to skim milk powder beginning August a year ago up to May 1,. this year?
2.	What were the government holdings of skim milk powder at April 1, 1958, and May 1, 1958?
(Mr. Argue.]

3.	What quantities of skim milk powder have been donated to UNICEF and other welfare agencies?


Mr. Speaker:: Order. While I do not want to be unnecessarily restrictive it seems to me this is exactly the type of question that is best put on the order paper, because it asks for statistical information which will take some time to obtain. I suggest that the hon. member put the question on the order paper and he will get his answer there.



REQUESTS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF FLOOR PRICES FOR VARIOUS COMMODITIES

[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Mr. J. W. Murphy (Lambton Wesi):: Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct a question to the Minister of Agriculture. I wonder if he could tell the house if the government has established a floor price or a formula on sugar beets and soya beans?


Hon. D. S. Harkness (Minister of Agriculture):: Yes, Mr. Speaker, support prices for soya beans and sugar beets have been established, and the details will be announced today. The floor price on soya beans is established at $2.10 a bushel. Sugar beets are on a different formula from that employed last year. They will be supported on the basis of a deficiency payment on the price per pound for sugar received in the four producing areas; these prices vary and I have not got them in my memory.


Hon. Paul Martin (Essex East):: Mr. Speaker, I should like to ask the Minister of Agriculture a supplementary question. He will recall that last week I asked the question which has just been put by the hon. member for Lambton West. Can the Minister of Agriculture say whether in addition to soya beans and beets the government is prepared to give or is now giving consideration to the establishment of a floor price for corn and Ontario grown wheat?


Harold Edward Winch: What kind of corn?


Douglas Scott Harkness: The answer is yes, Mr. Speaker.



FINANCE


[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Mr. C. W. Carter (Burin-Burgeo):: Mr. Speaker, may I ask the Minister of Finance if the tariff board hearings on fluorspar have been completed, and when a report may be expected.


Hon. Donald M. Fleming (Minister of Finance):: Mr. Speaker, the public hearing of the tariff board on this reference was completed, but the information which the tariff board asked the parties to submit has not been completed. Indeed, the information has not yet been forthcoming; consequently there can be no indication yet as to when the tariff board will be in a position to submit its report on the reference.



ARTS, LETTERS AND SCIENCES REQUEST FOR MORE SUMMER EMPLOYMENT FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Herbert Wilfred Herridge: Mr. Speaker, I wish to direct a question to the Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys based on my concern for the welfare of all Canadians. In view of the lessening opportunities for the employment of university graduates or student undergraduates in the mining, forest and other industries, would the minister give consideration to increasing the scope of geological and other surveys this summer as a temporary measure to alleviate this situation until government policies provide a permanent solution?


Hon. Paul Comlois (Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys):: Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to the hon. member for having given me notice indirectly of his intention to put this question. As far as my department is concerned I might say this. The 1958-59 main estimates made provision for an increase of seven permanent positions on the professional staff of the geological survey of Canada. As a result of representations made by the geological association of Canada it is proposed to establish in the 1958-59 supplementary estimates 50 additional seasonal positions to be filled by graduate and undergraduate geologists. Of the 50 temporary positions, 40 have already been filled.


Mr. D. M. Fisher (Pori Arthur):: Mr. Speaker, may I ask a supplementary question. Could the minister inform the house whether the seven permanent positions that have been established are roughly in line with the request of the geological association of Canada, or did they ask for the establishment of even more positions than that?


Paul Comtois: I think they asked for more than that, but that is all we can do for the present year.


Hon. J. W. Pickersgill (Bonavisla-Twillingale):: May I put a similar question to the Minister of Northern Affairs and National
Inquiries of the Ministry Resources. Is the government giving any consideration to making similar provision, in the supplementary estimates or otherwise, for forestry students?


Hon. Alvin Hamilton (Minisler of Northern Affairs and National Resources):: The government has already given consideration to this matter, and this year we have extended summer employment to students not only in forestry but in national parks and I believe in the wildlife service. Also we are busy considering our plans for next year, because it takes us a year in advance to get these things worked out successfully.



TRANSPORT


[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Mr. H. C. McQuillan (Comox-Alberni):: Mr. Speaker, may I direct a question to the Minister of Transport. In view of the urgency created by the strike of Canadian Pacific Steamships employees and the pending strike of the Black Ball line employees, can the minister inform the house what steps, if any, he is prepared to take to maintain essential transportation services to the east and west coasts of Vancouver island?


George Harris Hees: Mr. Speaker, the government will see to it that actual hardship is not suffered by residents on the west coast through being deprived of such necessities as food or medical supplies.



ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY REPORTED STATEMENT IN WASHINGTON WITH RESPECT TO TOLLS

[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Hazen Robert Argue: Mr. Speaker, I should like to direct a question to the Minister of Transport. Would the minister care to comment on the newspaper report that Canadian and United States toll committees are likely to arrive at an agreement on tolls for the seaway, and whether the rates suggested are such as to offset many of the advantages that would otherwise accrue from the seaway?


George Harris Hees: Mr. Speaker, all I can say is that the discussions are still going on between the toll committees of the Canadian seaway authority and the United States seaway authority, and conclusions have not yet been reached as to the amounts of those tolls.
514	HOUSE OF
The Address-Mr. Haribidge


Hazen Robert Argue: Can the minister inform the house when the committees themselves may reach agreement?


George Harris Hees: It is impossible to say, Mr. Speaker. I would think it would be in the course of the next few months.



TRANS-CANADA AIR LINES  PASSES FOR MEMBERS

[Stage Direction]
On the orders of the day:
Frank Howard: Mr. Speaker,
I have one more question for the Minister of Transport. It appears to be a question which concerns quite a number of members, especially those from the extremities of the nation. Can the minister advise the house as to what progress is being made with regard to his oft-repeated desire to have air travel passes made available to members of parliament?


George Harris Hees: Mr. Speaker, I have discussed this matter with the management of Trans-Canada Air Lines. I find that the cost to the government, which is the cost to the people of Canada, of providing such passes would be quite considerable. It is a matter which is still under consideration by the government.


Mr. Mcllraiih:: Did you not know that when you made the speeches before?



SPEECH FROM THE THRONE


[Stage Direction]
The house resumed, from Monday, May 26, consideration of the motion of Mr. Robert Lafreniere for an address to His Excellency the Governor General in reply to his speech at the opening of the session, and the amendment thereto of Mr. Pearson.
Mr. R. L. Hanbidge (Kindersley):: Mr. Speaker, when you were good enough to call it ten o'clock last night to give me a chance to get my second wind I was referring to a luncheon speaker in Calgary who commenced his address by saying: "Mr. Chairman and fellow Conservatives". I also said something about the whooping cranes in Saskatchewan and how since June, 1957, their numbers have increased as the sands of the sea. Also, Mr. Speaker, I had paid my compliments to you on being elected to the highest office in the gift of this parliament.
Now I would like to pay my tributes to the Deputy Speaker and the chairman of the committees of the whole house. I am quite sure that we down in this corner of the house, sir, will do all we can to make their arduous duties as easy as possible. I suppose I could, as some of the other members have


done, simply concur in what has been said by the previous speakers with regard to the other members who have contributed to the debate; but I should like to say a word to the mover (Mr. Lafreniere) and seconder (Mr. Nielsen) of the address in reply to the speech from the throne on the splendid manner in which they acquitted themselves. I am sure their constituents will be more than proud of the manner in which they conducted themselves in these, their first addresses in this chamber.
I should also like to congratulate the new members of the cabinet, namely the new Minister of Defence Production (Mr. O'Hurley) and the new Secretary of State (Mr. Courte-manche). I should like to add my congratulations to the very gifted and charming lady who was promoted to be Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. I should just like to tell my constituents in Kindersley that all the nice things they have read about that lady are actually an understatement and certainly not an exaggeration. My hope is that the three ministers will have a long tenure of office with their colleagues on the treasury benches.
I should now like to say a word to the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Pearson), and I am delighted to see that he is in the house this morning. While we in the southwest corner of the house compose a somewhat larger group than the Leader of the Opposition wishes to see over here, and while I have not had the privilege as yet of getting acquainted with him, I want to say to him that the three members for Kindersley who preceded me were very good friends of mine and also of his. Despite their political views they are all friends of mine, and all spoke very highly of the Leader of the Opposition. Before long I hope that we shall be able to meet back here in the corridor. I want to congratulate him on his election as leader of his party last January. It is a high honour indeed to be chosen leader of one of the great political parties in this country. My sincere wish is that he may long preside over the destinies of his party, that he may continue to occupy the post he now holds on this side of the house, and that he will continue to be surrounded as he is now by members of the party to which I belong.
Some 30 years ago, when I took a much more active interest in municipal politics than I have taken in recent years, I remember attending a convention of the urban municipalities association after one of the members of his party-and I am now referring to the Leader of the Opposition-had suffered a disastrous defeat at the polls. In addressing that convention he took as his subject a text from Holy Writ: Him that the

Lord loveth He chasteneth. I pass that text along to the Leader of the Opposition for whatever comfort he can get out of it.
The election of March 31, Mr. Speaker, if I may say a word about myself, was the fourth in which I was a candidate. Twice I tried for the legislative assembly. The first time I tried for it I was elected, and was the first Conservative member to represent the old riding of Kerrobert in that legislative assembly. Five years later, in 1934, I retired from public life and went back to the practice of law with the consent and approval of the majority of the people in that constituency. In 1945 I gambled $200 that I could get half as many votes as the winning candidate in the Kindersley constituency. I lost that bet. On March 31 last I was swept into office here, Mr. Speaker, the first Conservative member for the riding of Kindersley. I rode in on the blizzard that swept across Canada; hence my batting average now stands at 500. That is not bad as batting averages go in Saskatchewan for Conservatives over approximately the past 40 years.
I believe, Mr. Speaker, it is a time-honoured custom in this house to say something about one's constituency during one's first speech in the house. The Kindersley constituency is named after the largest town in it the town of Kindersley. The town was named after Sir Robert Kindersley who was at one time chairman of the board of the Hudson's Bay Company and a prominent financier in Britain. The seat was established in 1914, and down through the years has been represented by members of various parties. The first member was a supporter of the Union government, Mr. E. T. Myers, who represented the seat from 1917 to 1921. From 1921 to 1935 the constituency was represented by Mr. A. M. Carmichael, a supporter of the Progressives. From 1935 to 1940 a supporter of the Social Credit party, Mr. O. B. Elliott, represented the constituency. From 1940 to 1945 Mr. Charles A. Henderson, a supporter of the Liberal party, was the member. From 1945 to 1949 a C.C.F. supporter, Mr. Frank E. Jaenicke, Q.C. was the member. From 1949 to 1953 Mr. Fred Larson, a supporter of the Liberal party, represented the constituency. From 1953 until March 31 of this year Mr. Mervin Johnson, a supporter of the C.C.F. party, was the member.
I was acquainted with all these men, and all were friends of mine despite the fact that many of them held views that were different from mine politically. I have the honour now to be the first Conservative to be elected by that constituency. I should like to say, sir, that in the four political campaigns in which I have been a candidate my opponents were 57071-3-33^
The Address-Mr. Hanbidge friends of mine. We were friends when the campaign started and we were still friends when the campaign ended. We managed to conduct all four campaigns without bitterness and, better still, without any mud slinging.
Now I should like to put on Hansard a very sincere thank you to the hundreds of men and women throughout the constituency who worked so hard at the March election to elect me as a supporter of the Diefenbaker government. I should like also to say a thank you to the 8,995 people who voted to send me down here. I am very grateful to them, and I want to assure them I will try to represent them faithfully at all times during my tenure of office.
The present riding of Kindersley was established prior to the 1953 election in the redistribution or gerrymandering, call it what you like, when the number of members representing Saskatchewan was reduced from 21 to 17. Several seats were wiped out, but the principal one that was being obliterated was the seat then represented by the present Prime Minister. The aim of the top brass of the Liberal party in Saskatchewan then was to get rid of that man Diefenbaker, to try to drive him out of public life. One of the greatest stimulants the Conservative party in western Canada has received in recent years was when he declined to accept the nomination in a safe seat in Ontario. He decided he was going to stay in public life as a member for Saskatchewan or he would retire to the practice of law. He then went into the historic riding of Prince Albert, a seat that had been held by Sir Wilfrid Laurier and later by Mr. Mackenzie King.
We in the west were never prouder of our Prime Minister than when he turned a Liberal majority of 1,575 in the 1949 election into a Conservative majority of 3,001 in 1953. This, sir, was one of the greatest shots in the arm the Conservatives in the west have received in recent years. Even at that time he was recognized at least as our western leader, if not our national leader.
I want to say another few words about the constituency of Kindersley. It has a population of almost 48,000 and is bounded on the north by township 41, on the south by township 14, on the east by range 16 west of the third meridian, and on the west by the eastern boundary of sunny Alberta. It is roughly 156 miles from north to south and 84 miles from east to west. It is cut in two by the South Saskatchewan river, which flows from west to east from Alberta. There are 9 townships south of the river and 15 townships north of the river.

The Address-Mr. Hanbidge
From the Alberta border on the west to No. 4 highway in the riding of Rosetown-Biggar there are no bridges whatsoever. The people are served by ferries but at times it is almost impossible, of course, for these ferries to operate, so to get from one side of the river to the other means travelling east to No. 4 highway, a considerable number of miles.
The good people south of the river are actually tributary to the larger centres of Maple Creek and Swift Current, and many south of the river would prefer to be tied in with those centres politically; but I want to make it clear that there are a lot of mighty fine people in that territory south of the river. I like them and they gave me a majority in the last election, so far be it from me to suggest that that district be taken away from the constituency of Kindersley.
Our chief industries are farming and ranching. Some of the most fertile heavy clay land in Canada is in my riding. Time does not permit me to name the districts. There are, of course, some districts which are not so good, and there is some marginal land and some lands valuable only for pasture and ranching. We have some oil fields; we have the Coleville-Smiley oil field north of the South Saskatchewan river, and south of that river there is what is known as the Fosterton oil field. In the Coleville-Smiley field there are 526 oil wells capable of producing, and there are actually 358 wells in production. In the Fosterton field there are some 52 wells capable of production and all are producing. There are two oil refineries, one at Coleville and one at Eston. So any of you who own stock in any of the larger oil companies have a slight interest in the Kindersley constituency.
We also have gas. East and north of the town of Kindersley is what is known as the Brock gas field. Gas from that field is piped into several of the towns in my constituency and also into some of the cities. I must add that the premier of Saskatchewan is somewhat disturbed because gas pressure has been lowered since March 31. During the political campaign one of those who spoke with me, a former attorney general of Saskatchewan, when speaking at the town of Fox Valley down in the southern part of the constituency referred to the monument to the wheat policies of the Liberal party. In this town, owned by the United Grain Growers, there are three large elevators. Some of you will know about this, particularly those members from the west; an annex is a temporary addition to a grain elevator for the storage of grain, and the biggest annex in the world,


I believe, is in the town of Fox Valley. It connects two elevators owned by the United Grain Growers, and it stores something like 145,000 bushels of wheat. As my friend, M. A. McPherson, said, this is a great monument to the wheat policies of the former government.
So much for our industries. Now as to the people of this constituency, we have as fine a cross-section of citizens as you will find anywhere in Canada. Our people or their parents and ancestors came from the eastern provinces, from Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, the maritimes and also from the United States, England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Sweden, China and the countries of central Europe. We have even some from old Ireland; they are the salt of the earth and they all live together in peace and harmony building homes, towns, communities, raising their children to be happy and contented; industrious people working together as Christian, law-abiding citizens, helping to build up this great land.
My hon. friend from York West said something during the course of his address about being careful of the direction in which hon. members on the other side of the house would send their fire in shooting this way. He said not to shoot back until you see the whites of their eyes. I take it that my hon. friend from York West is a goose hunter, and the people in the constituency of Kindersley would think I had been remiss in carrying out my duties if I did not let this house know that Kindersley constituency is known as the haven of goose hunters. Hunters come from the east and up from the south to my constituency in great numbers. As a matter of fact they come from all over Canada and the United States, pouring into our area. I would like to put in a plug here, if I may, for the C.C.F. government of Saskatchewan, and suggest that as many of you as possibly can do so should come to that province, take out your licences to hunt geese, and of course contribute your foreign capital to the coffers of the province.
Many years ago when I hoped a little more seriously than I did in recent months to become a member of this chamber, I resolved that at my first opportunity I would pay tribute to one of the greatest western Canadians. More years ago than I care to remember I was articled as a young law student in the office of a man who for many years had been a member of the old Northwest Territories council and who was later premier of the Northwest Territories for 14 years, before the provinces of Alberta or Saskatchewan were formed. I refer to

Frederick William Gordon Haultain, a man who was deprived of the honour of being the first premier of Saskatchewan by the government of that day. He was the man actually responsible for the ordinances passed in the Northwest Territories, the basis for the first laws of the new provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and for the establishment of law, order and good government in the territories now comprising those provinces. When Saskatchewan was formed he became leader of the opposition, a post he held until 1912, when he was appointed chief justice of that province and held that position until 1938, when he retired to private life. Looking back over the years during which I knew him, which goes back to the fall of 1909, I feel I must pay tribute to the man who in my book did more than any other to establish civilization in that part of the west which we now know as Saskatchewan and Alberta.


Some hon. Members:: Hear, hear.


Robert Leith Hanbidge: He was a pioneer, a lawyer, a statesman, a jurist, one of nature's noblemen, a great man of his day and generation; Sir Frederick Haultain.
I want to commend the government for a few of the things they have done during the short period they have been in office. Time will not permit me to cover everything by any means, but I do want to congratulate the Prime Minister, his government and particularly the Minister of Trade and Commerce for the efforts they have made to dispose of wheat and other grains. We in Kindersley are particularly glad to learn that in this crop year there is a prospect of disposing of some 300 million bushels of wheat. If ever a minister of the crown inherited a difficult task it was the Minister of Trade and Commerce, and I want to commend him and his departmental officials, as well as the officials of the wheat board, for their efforts to regain lost markets and find new ones.
I want to commend the government also for exploring the matter of contributory old age pensions; for proposing assistance to the forgotten man, the small businessman; for appointing a commission to investigate price spreads; for its efforts, particularly the Prime Minister and the Minister of Labour to avert the recent rail strike; for extending the period of payments under the Unemployment Insurance Act; for increasing the payments to our senior citizens under the old age pension plan, and also for the plan whereby advance payments on farm-stored grain were made to farmers through the wheat board and the elevator companies.
So much for the commendations I wish to lay at the door of the government. I now
The Address-Mr. Hanbidge want to pass on a few suggestions, for I believe the Prime Minister has intimated that he will receive suggestions from his supporters, particularly from those in the southwest corner of the house. First, with respect to the matter of the Crowsnest pass freight rates agreement, some of the groups in my constituency are very much worried lest there be a change made in that agreement, and I urge the government that no alteration be made.
I commend to the government the building of a series of interior grain storage elevators. It looks as though the government of this country will be in the grain business for a good many years to come. Storing grain is a great expense to farmers of western Canada, and I suggest that serious consideration be given by the government to building storage elevators throughout the west, at the head of the lakes, on the west coast and also at the seaports of eastern Canada.
I suggest, also, that unemployment insurance benefits be extended to apply to farm labourers. Also I suggest to the Minister of Trade and Commerce that the sale of low-grade wheat by one farmer to another farmer or livestock feeder should be encouraged, not discouraged, and that such sales should be permitted both to someone within a province and to someone outside a province without requiring the permission of the wheat board. I suggest also that loans made by the Canadian farm loan board be investigated in order to find out whether it is the policy of the board to advance money only on heavy clay land.
Then I suggest that serious consideration should be given to making some grant toward the expenses of those Canadian athletes who will be representing Canada at the British empire games. While I have never had the advantage of playing in professional sport- iri recent years my sporting activities have been confined to golf and curling-in years gone by I played football in Regina on the same team as John Bracken. I was one of the Regina Roughriders-this, of course, was after Mr. Bracken's time-in the days back iri 1912 and 1913 when we were good enough to be champions of western Canada.
In those days we did not play under the 3 and 4 platoon system; the men who played on the team did not get splinters in their posteriors by riding the bench. We played for 60 minutes. As one who was an impecunious law student I know what it means to have your nose and several other things broken and have to pay your own expenses out of your own pocket, I seriously suggest to the government that consideration' be given to assisting these athletes who are going
518	HOUSE OF
The Address-Mr. Hanbidge overseas as ambassadors of good will, meeting with athletes from different parts of the empire at these games.
I had intended to say a word about the South Saskatchewan river dam, but as my hon. friend from Saskatoon (Mr. Jones) referred to the subject yesterday, I will be very brief. This question has been a political football for many years, and I commend the government for having taken the initial steps, at least, to see that this project is proceeded with. I have in my hand an editorial from the Globe and Mail of May 24. I do not want to take up the time of the house by reading it, It is headed "Water is the Answer".
I should very much like to have this editorial incorporated into my remarks. It has to do with the efforts being made by the University of Saskatchewan to set up a farm of 250 acres near Saskatoon to investigate irrigation methods and conduct research in the use of water. On the same page of the Globe and Mail of May 24 is an editorial copied from the Calgary Albertan dealing with conditions in western Canada at the present time. The situation in the three prairie provinces has become serious because of wind erosion and lack of rain. Sunday evening I telephoned to my home town of Kerrobert, and I was informed that all day long a blizzard had been blowing and the dust was flying as in the period of the dirty thirties. I should like to have the two editorials to which I have referred incorporated into my remarks if I may. If not I will see that they are put into the hands of the government.
Mr. Speaker, I have no intention of rehashing or reliving the issues of the recent campaign, but there are a few things which have been said in this debate upon which I wish to comment. The hon. member for Bonavista-Twillingate (Mr. Pickersgill) said, as recorded in Hansard for May 21 at page 317, that he wondered if the Prime Minister had mistaken himself for Superman because of his activities during the recent election campaign. I have known the Prime Minister for a great many years, and I do not think any of us in western Canada have ever considered him to be a superman physically. But we have known for a long time that he is a superman mentally.
Again the hon. member for Bonavista-Twillingate, as hon. members will see if they look at Hansard of May 21 at page 318, referred to "the exaltation of one man-the cult of the leader". The hon. member should know whereof he speaks. He should know more about that topic than those in our party. If I recall correctly, the only platform his party had in 1949 and again in 1953, the only plank they had to stand on, was the one labelled "Uncle Louie". Again, back in


1908 and once more in the election of 1911-and I can go back that far-the only platform the Liberal party of those days had in Canada from Vancouver to Halifax, illustrated by pictures of the old chieftain with the silvery locks Sir Wilfrid Laurier, was, "Let the old man finish his work". The hon. member for Bonavista-Twillingate should know whereof he speaks when he talks about platforms, slogans and so forth.
Then again, as reported in Hansard of May 21 at page 318, the same hon. gentleman said something to this effect: "The occupants of the front benches were a very small factor in the last election." I did not have all the cabinet ministers in my riding, but I did have one, the Minister of Trade and Commerce, for two meetings. I just want to say that the minister is now being given an invitation by me on behalf of the executive of the Kinderlsey Federal Conservative Association to come back and assist whoever may be the Progressive Conservative candidate at the next federal election. I want to tell the hon. member for Bonavista-Twillingate that the Minister of Trade and Commerce not only made votes for me in that election but, more important, he did not lose me any. We were mighty happy to have his help. Moreover, we would indeed be happy to have any of the other ministers in the Kindersley riding who can see their way clear to come during the next election, and I am extending an invitation to them to assist the candidate.
Further, the hon. member for Bonavista-Twillingate said something to this effect, as reported in Hansard at page 318:
The Conservative ministers counted for very little and I say again, with no desire to belittle the supporters of the government, that the private members supporting the government counted for less than nothing.
I want to thank the member for that kindly remark, "no desire to belittle the supporters of the government". We realize that it was made with courtesy on his lips and kindness in his heart.
For several days now I have been amazed at the talent with which the Prime Minister is surrounded. True, there may not be many who have had the training and experience of a history lecturer, but there are a great many of the private members supporting the Prime Minister-medical men, lawyers, merchants, businessmen, farmers, manufacturers, men from a great many different walks in life-who have made a real success of their own affairs. I have been amazed at the manner in which a great many of these men have been able to get to their feet for the first time in this house and express themselves with such ease. Many of them are men who have taken an active part in their own

communities at the municipal level and, in some cases, the provincial level; men who have looked after the hospitals, the Red Cross organization and things of that nature.
I had no intention of discussing politics during this, my first speech in the House of Commons, but I thought some answer should be given to the hon. member for Bonavista-Twillingate in view of the somewhat insulting remarks he made with regard to the private members. I should like to tell a story here, but I am afraid my time is too short. I will tell it to the hon. member for Bonavista-Twillingate privately.
I have known the Prime Minister for a great many years. At different times on different platforms I have said a lot of kindly things about him and his party. During the last election campaign I told a little story on an occasion when I did not have time to say all the nice things I wanted to say about the Prime Minister. The story concerns a young man who attended a church service. As he was leaving he stopped at the door and shook hands with the parson and said, "Mr. Parson, that was a damned fine sermon and I enjoyed it very much." The preacher looked at him with some amazement and said, "Thank you very much for the compliment, but I do think your language might be a little less emphatic." The young man replied, "Well, I did enjoy the sermon, Mr. Parson. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I put a $50 bill on the collection plate." The parson stepped back in amazement and said, "The hell you say."
May I observe in conclusion that in this year of grace a spirit of harmony prevails across this great land. The discords and seeds of hate and disunity that were planted, fostered and promoted in years past by certain parties and certain people for political purposes are, I hope, now a matter of history. Today our party, the party of those great men who have gone before-Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Georges Etienne Cartier-the party of Borden and Bennett and of Arthur Meighen, who is happily still with us, to name but a few, has been reborn and under the guiding hand and the inspired leadership of that great parliamentarian and peerless leader, our Prime Minister, I believe this great land of ours will continue to prosper and flourish as one of the great, free and liberty-loving nations of the world. I want to assure the Prime Minister and those associated with him on the treasury benches that the member for Kindersley will be voting for the main motion.


Mr. M. A. Hardie (Mackenzie River):: Mr. Speaker, I wish first to congratulate you and your deputy on your appointment to
The Address-Mr. Hardie the high offices you occupy in this house. I am confident that you will look after not only the rights of the majority but also those of the minorities in the days to come. I should also like to extend congratulations to the mover (Mr. Lafreniere) and seconder (Mr. Nielsen) of the address in reply to the speech from the throne. Their efforts were very fine; but I would like to say to the hon. member for Yukon, who made reference to me during this speech, that it is quite clear to me now why it was necessary for him to call upon the new blueeyed Indian senator for assistance during the last election campaign.
The speech from the throne, although vague in its wording, does cover a wide variety of proposed legislation for this session. What it will mean to the people of Canada will not be known, of course, until the legislation it foreshadows comes before the house. Today I would like to comment on a few of the announcements contained in the throne speech as they affect the riding of Mackenzie River. I will deal with them in the order in which they appear.
First there is the proposed amendment to the Unemployment Insurance Act to extend the seasonal benefit period an additional six weeks. This amendment will naturally be of assistance to those who qualify, but from what I can gather this group will represent approximately 25 per cent of those Canadians who are today facing hardships and misery because of lack of employment. In my own riding I doubt if 5 per cent of the people presently unemployed will qualify for these benefits. The reason for this is the fact that a large number of my people have no opportunity to work on a payroll job for any length of time, the result being that they do not have the required stamps to qualify them for benefits under the act.
Many of these people are Indians, Eskimos or people of mixed blood whose normal living would be derived from trapping and hunting. We also have fishermen who fish two seasons of the year, in the summer from around July 1 to the latter part of August and in the winter from early in January to about the middle of March. These people by and large cannot collect seasonal benefits because the fishing season conflicts with the seasonal benefit period. I would suggest to the government that provision be made whereby their contributions to the unemployment insurance fund would entitle them to seasonal benefits in the period of each year in which they find themselves unemployed.
The problem of the trapper is such that he cannot make a living or even exist on

The Address-Mr. Hardie trapping because of the serious decline in the price of fur over the past ten years. Hunting has also become a thing of the past in some areas because of the serious decrease in the numbers of caribou and other game. This has left the native in the unfortunate position of relying on the government for a hand-out or, in the case of persons of mixed blood, in the position of having to sink or swim. I have spoken in this house on numerous occasions during the past five years bringing this problem to the attention of the government. I have told the house repeatedly that these people do not want hand-outs but rather they desire an opportunity to make a living.
What is this government doing about it? Well, Mr. Speaker, I will outline some of the things that have happened in the short time since the Conservative party took office. Hon. members will recall that on December 19 last the Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources announced in this house a winter works program. This program included two road clearing projects in my riding or immediately adjacent to it, one between Fort Providence and Fort Rae, the other between Peace Point and the western boundary of the Wood Buffalo park.
I want to quote from the minister's statement with reference to the labour to be used on these projects, as found at page 2580 of Hansard of December 19, 1957. This is what the minister said:
I will be in close consultation with my colleague the Minister of Labour to ensure that these jobs are filled by persons coming from areas with high rates of unemployment. Most of the work is of an outdoor nature and should, for example, provide substantial assistance in finding jobs for unemployed forest workers in British Columbia.
The minister should have added that it would be of assistance in finding work for natives of the Northwest Territories. On January 8, 1958, as reported at page 2988 of Hansard, I addressed the following question:
I should like to direct a question to either the Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources or the Minister of Public Works. Is it true that the department has invited bids on a cost-plus management fee basis for the completion of the Mackenzie highway between Fort Providence and Fort Rae in the Northwest Territories? If so, will the minister see to it that all available local equipment and manpower will be utilized before either are brought in from the province of Alberta?
The Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources replied in these words:
The answer to the first part of the question is yes. The answer to the second part of the question is that I shall have to take it under consideration because of the fact that we are trying to get this work started by January 15, which makes it imperative to move at high speed. I will take

the matter up with the department to see what we can do. I want to assure the hon. member that one of the conditions of these tenders was that the government of Canada would have the choice as to the source of the labour supply.
The minister's answer brings up another point which deals with the calling for tenders on these projects. In the case of the job between Fort Providence and Fort Rae in particular, a nOmber of construction companies outside of the Northwest Territories were asked to bid. Not one contractor resident in the Northwest Territories was invited to tender although inquiries were made as to camp equipment, etc., owned by the contractors in the area. The feeling was that they were not equipped to handle camps of the size required. As it turned out, however, the natives hired on these jobs were put up in tents, and I am sure that any contractor in my riding certainly has enough experience in the country to put up a tent camp. And since time was of the essence, according to the minister, I ask you what contractor from Alberta could get on the job faster than the local people who had their outfits within 50 miles of the project?
Well, after the minister's assurance that labour would be recruited from the areas of high unemployment, what happened? The contractors were given specific instructions that 50 per cent of the labour hired for those projects was to be hired through the unemployment insurance office in Edmonton and 50 per cent from the Northwest Territories. Men were flown in from Edmonton via Canadian Pacific Airlines, some of whom arrived in Fort Smith and Fort Providence dressed up like city slickers, as a matter of fact like our present Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources, who arrived in Frobisher Bay some weeks ago in clothing that would have been suitable down in Florida: a felt hat, toe rubbers and all the rest of it. These people were all shipped in from Edmonton to work with axes in the bush clearing roads. Well, bush clothing was purchased for them; their way was paid from and to Edmonton. At the same time natives in my part of the country were going without food or living on miserable rations because of the lack of work.
Well, I ask this house, who is more qualified to work in the bush than a person who was born and raised in the bush? I might add here that at Fort Rae the government gave the natives a contract to clear six miles of this road, and I would bet money that the cost of that six miles of road would not come to over 30 per cent of what it cost the contractors and this government to clear the other part with hired labour from Edmonton. There are many other things that I could say about

this particular project, Mr. Speaker, but I shall leave that to some other time.
Another instance of the injustices encountered by local people up north took place at Hay River this past winter. An outside contractor was the successful tenderer on a group of buildings for the Department of Fisheries. Not one carpenter was hired from the town of Hay River, although there were qualified carpenters, residents of the community, without work. Is it logical to hire men in Edmonton, pay their way in and out of the area by air, rather than hire local people who are qualified?
The reason given by the contractor for this state of affairs was that the men at Hay River were not union men. Now, Mr. Speaker, it may be that they are not union men, but I am telling you that they are going to be, and this government had better either pass labour laws for the Northwest Territories or instruct their appointed representatives on the Northwest Territories council to pass ordinances that will look after the labour of the north. There has been too much of this business of outside contractors moving into the riding and shipping in men from outside at the expense of our people.
Another criticism I have of what is apparently the policy of this government is in regard to the work on the new townsite of Aklavik. I think hon. members will recall that a few years ago the former administration thought it necessary to move this settlement from its present location because of the lack of room for expansion and the problems created by the thawing of the permafrost, along with other reasons. At the time the government decided to move this town Mr. Frank Carmichael, who was then representing that area on the Northwest Territories council, and myself made recommendations to the government of that day in regard to the manner in which this move should be dealt with. We pointed out that because of the very rapid increase in the population of the Mackenzie delta area and because of the fact that some 35 to 50 families were without trap lines, with no way to make a living, it was our belief that the project should be carried out over a period of six or seven years. Of course, the extension of this project over a period of six or seven years would provide work instead of relief for the people of that area and of the Mackenzie river. It would also give on the job training for natives in the skills of carpentry, truck driving, equipment operating, diesel mechanics, electricity and the like. These people who are actually being forced from their trap lines should be given an opportunity to learn some other way in which to earn a living.
The Address-Mr. Hardie
As I understand it, the government of that day did accept our recommendation and did plan to move this town over a period of six or seven years, but the policy of this government apparently is to complete this job in the next two years. To do so, I understand they are moving 800 men in from Edmonton this summer to clean up this job. Well, Mr. Speaker, I am sympathetic toward all Canadians who are unemployed at the present time, but I do think the problems of the north are such that special consideration has to be given; otherwise we shall break down the morale of our people who would rather work than take rations. I hope the government will change its policy in this regard and take a second look at the unnecessary rush to complete this job, which could do a great deal to provide much needed work and training to keep people in the Mackenzie river area.
The additional $300 million which has already been provided for house construction in Canada will be of great assistance to the construction industry and also to those who can afford to purchase houses in Canada. But many people in Canada are still forced to live in substandard houses because of the amount of the present down payments and the high interest rates charged by the lending companies. It is my opinion that an even greater boost for housing could be brought about by amending the legislation to provide for lower down payments and the availability of loans at a lower rate of interest. In my own riding the cost of house construction is at least 50 per cent higher than in most places in Canada. If the Minister of Public Works, who is responsible to parliament for Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation will look over the cost to his own department of the construction of houses in the north I am sure he will have to admit that the north should be given special consideration. I would suggest that the government consider the possibility of increasing the maximum loan under the act, more in line with the cost of construction above the 60th parallel.
The announcement in the speech from the throne that we shall be asked to authorize the building of a railroad to Great Slave lake will certainly be looked upon with great enthusiasm, not only in my riding but in all parts of Canada. This railroad, if built, will not only open up possibly the largest lead-zinc deposit in the world, but it will also do a great deal for the development of the whole Mackenzie district, which has a great potential in copper, gold, lithium, uranium, and almost every known metal, oil and gas, forest products and agricultural lands. The differences of opinion as to the route thp railroad will

The Address-Mr. Hardie take, which have become quite evident recently, should not in any way delay the immediate start of this worth-while project. A definite decision as to the route should be taken at an early date so the bill can be introduced in the house as soon as possible.
This project is one which the hon. member for Montmagny-L'Islet (Mr. Lesage) has pushed and publicized over the years since he was appointed minister of northern affairs and national resources in 1953. Also a great deal of credit for stimulating the national interest must go to the deputy minister of this department, Mr. Gordon Robertson, along with his officials who have continuously worked toward the day the first spike will be driven. In any event, Mr. Speaker, both political parties were committed to the building of this railroad; and though I would have hoped that the party which had done the preliminary work would be the government presenting this bill at this session, I must congratulate the new government on accepting the recommendations of the former administration.
You will recall that during the election campaign the Prime Minister and the Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources promised a $100 million road program in the Northwest Territories and Yukon and a $75 million program in conjunction with the provinces for so-called access or development roads. I have checked the newspaper reports of speeches made by the two hon. gentlemen during the election campaign and find that this road program of the Tories included at least 6,000 miles of roads in the northern parts of Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. This I may say is a very conservative estimate, as I measured the mileages on the map as the crow flies. All these roads, according to the statements we heard during the campaign, were to be built at a cost of $175 million. This suggestion is simply ridiculous. This amount of money would not build roads suitable for a Bennett buggy, let alone a Diefen-baker chariot.
We in the Northwest Territories have had our experiences in the past with substandard roads. A very good example is the portion of the Mackenzie highway lying within the boundaries of the province of Alberta. After this road was built it stood up for a very few years, but because of the great increase in traffic, together with the reluctance on the part of the Alberta government to properly maintain the road, for the past number of years we have experienced times when the road was closed for from three weeks to six weeks during the break-up period. As recently as last summer, in the month of

July, when freight movements are heaviest, we experienced a condition which made it necessary to reroute freight from Grimshaw all the way back to Edmonton and on to Waterways in order to catch the water transport boats.
I suggest to the government that when negotiating with the province of Alberta with regard to the rebuilding of this road, consideration be given to the amounts promised to the provinces. These amounts that were promised were $1,500,000 per year over a period of five years. I would suggest that this amount be substantially increased so that when the rebuilding of the Mackenzie highway is undertaken we can build this road to real highway standards and go so far as to include hard surfacing.
We have heard a great deal about the road from Hay River to Bear lake. It was mentioned in the speech from the throne, and of course it was made to appear as something new. There is nothing new about this road. It was started two years ago by the former administration. To date approximately 93 miles have been partially completed. But to come back to the Mackenzie highway, Mr. Speaker, may I say that this road to Bear lake from Hay River is useless unless the Mackenzie highway is rebuilt to proper standards.
The speech from the throne also indicated that a great deal more money would be spent in the Northwest Territories for roads. I have here the estimates tabled the other day. On looking over the road program for this coming year in the Northwest Territories I find that the amount totals $3,813,200. This is the amount this government estimates it will spend in the Northwest Territories this year. Let us take a look at last year's figure. It was $4,434,100. This great vision of more roads is actually a reduction in road building in the Northwest Territories this coming year. Not only had the former administration set the policy which the Tories today have stolen with regard to the Bear lake road, but the Tories have included in their vision roads that were either surveyed or started by the former administration. I refer to roads from Fort Smith to Fort Vermilion; from Fort Fitzgerald to Bell Rock; from Stewart to Cassiar; and the opening of the Canol road. This program of the former administration would have cost, in my opinion, approximately $100 million, close to the figure promised by the Prime Minister during the election campaign for access or development roads. It is just about as phony as this $1,185 million of public works projects that was announced by the Prime Minister during the election campaign. All the Tories

have done is steal the ideas of the previous administration and project them into a ridiculous story about vision, all on the same amount of money or close to it.
My Conservative opponent during the election campaign also had vision. When speaking to the Indians at Fort Rae and Fort Providence he told them of visions he had in which the natives in a few years would be driving cars to their trap lines. Of course one of his chief executives was a Plymouth dealer, so I presume that the natives were all going to be driving Plymouths. But I wonder now, as I wondered then, how many miles of road there would be between Fort Rae and Great Bear lake if the road was to be built around every muskrat area between those two points. It would have to be built around the muskrat areas if these Indians were going to travel by car to their trap lines. I wondered at that time whether I had not been mistaken when I heard of the $100 million promise of the Prime Minister. When I heard this story of a road through the trap lines to Great Bear lake I was sure this $100 million was just for that road alone and not for all the roads.
During the course of the election campaign my opponent also distributed a circular letter. In the last paragraph of that letter he said:
In a personal letter I received from our Prime Minister a few days ago, he said, in part, "I look forward with keen anticipation to having the member for the far northern parts of Canada sitting with us on the government benches, as your wise counsel and experience will prove invaluable to our party in our plans for the development of Canada's northland."
Since my opponent is not here to advise the Prime Minister, Mr. Speaker, I am offering my services in that capacity today, just as I did with the former government. While I am at it 1 want to let the Prime Minister in on a little secret. The former administration obtained most of their vision from my advice; and since the Prime Minister thought it was good enough to use in the last national election campaign, I am confident I can still be of service to the government of Canada. He will have to admit that while I was sitting on the side of the chamber he now occupies I was not hesitant in criticizing the government when I thought they needed it or in congratulating them when 1 thought they deserved it. I shall try, Mr. Speaker, to continue this attitude from the place I occupy at this time.


Mr. A. R. Smith (Calgary South):: My first remarks, sir, must be of a congratulatory nature directed to the Speaker upon his reelection as the first commoner of this land. I can recall, not too many years ago, hearing an individual say to the speaker in similar circumstances that when you really meet a 57071-3-34J
The Address-Mr. A. R. Smith great man who is quiet, modest and unassuming, it gives one a feeling that perhaps there are some hopes for the individual himself in the future. I am sure the Speaker will appreciate it when I say that we from western Canada, recognizing that your birthplace was also in western Canada, take some pride in your success and therefore bathe in the reflected glory of one of our greatest exports, men of the calibre of the Speaker of this house and the Prime Minister.
I should like too, sir, to congratulate, and not in a perfunctory manner, the mover (Mr. Lafreniere) and seconder (Mr. Nielsen) of the address in reply to the speech from the throne. I know that as they sit and listen to some 90 people speak, as it was my privilege to do in the last house, they must feel that perhaps this is a perfunctory gesture on the part of members. I learned, and admittedly it was from a gentleman on the opposite side of the house, that the best way to determine whether or not it is intended as a sincere expression is not to listen to the comments of those people who have been in the chamber for only a session or two, but to those who have occupied a place in this house for a generation or two, such as members of the civil service and the protective staff. I can say to both hon. members that the calibre of their contribution was such that they need not worry about anyone suggesting that these remarks are perfunctory in nature. They both made able contributions to this debate.
I should like now to congratulate the Deputy Speaker, too. I think most hon. members will agree that in the short time he has occupied this position he has carried out his duties with a quiet dignity which is so in keeping with the green chamber. I know that the fine tradition of his family is being carried on by his conduct and many great things will still be expected of him.
Perhaps I have been remiss in not speaking in more eloquent terms, either in this debate or the previous throne speech debate, of the city which I represent. I did not do so, sir, because I felt it would be an insult to the intelligence of the members of the house to imply that they would not know the city of Calgary. Contrary to popular opinion amongst some eastern Canadians, we do not lynch easterners regularly; we do not wear our six-shooters or our white hats to bed.


An hon. Member:: Just occasionally.


Arthur Smith: Well, perhaps the hon. member was an exception. I would say that actually, by nature, we are a very modest people. It does concern us when people describe us in independent reports as that city most likely to succeed; as the

The Address-Mr. A. R. Smith greatest centre of the petroleum industry in Canada, in fact in the British empire; that city with the greatest advantage from the tourist trade, the greatest per capita turnover in bank receipts, the fast growing city and so on. Actually we do blush with modesty when we hear these glowing reports. Naturally we take some enjoyment, unlike other members who have had to say they are the first Conservatives to represent their constituencies in 30 years, from the fact that we have very seldom had a Liberal representing the constituencies in Calgary.
What I had intended to say, aside from all this nonsense, is that you have been invited by members of this house to everything from a log-rolling contest in British Columbia to a Sunday school picnic in a section of eastern Canada. I would be remiss, therefore, if I did not invite you to the greatest outdoor show in the world, the Calgary stampede.
I should like to point with some pride to the fact-this is perhaps the only political remark I shall make-that in this chamber all 17 members from the province of Alberta are on the government side of the house. We know, and many of those who had a tremendous uphill fight will be the first to agree, that unless we carry out our responsibilities to the public that situation could change. We recognize that many of the candidates who were defeated previously had substantial majorities. What I say, Mr. Speaker, is that the day may not be far off when, having been the only province in the history of Canada to completely eliminate a political party, we will also have the privilege in a provincial election of forming the first Conservative government of Alberta.
I had thought that my remarks today might be entitled as an "I am not mad at anybody" type of speech, at least that was my intention until I heard the hon. member for Lapointe (Mr. Brassard) yesterday. He dragged out that old argument that because of the trade policies of the Conservative government, the United States had retaliated against us by placing oil import quotas against western Canadian crude.
I come from a city that has 42,000 United States citizens and is the centre of Canada's oil industry. If that were a truism it would have been a difficult subject for me to be confronted with. Let us look at his statement. Obviously the hon. member dragged it out of one of the senior Liberal member's speeches during the campaign, which was repeated in every section of Canada except my city. The fact of the matter is that oil import quotas were imposed. We had some indication that this would be the case because, after Suez, the United States found itself in a surplus position on oil production.


The United States then found, to a large extent as the result of pressure from certain internal groups within their own economy, that it was necessary to impose quotas, not just on Canada but on all exporting countries including Venezuela and the Middle East. If the argument that we were being retaliated against were valid, then it would follow also that the United States was retaliating for some reason against Venezuela and the Middle East countries. The fact of the matter is that the oil industry as a whole in Canada has not been able, for economic reasons of price competition, to even meet those import quotas which were imposed. So I suggest that we dispose of this ridiculous argument that it was a question of retaliation, because those who are concerned with the industry and are a part of it certainly will not accept it, and I am sure the members of this house will not accept it either.
I think because of misrepresentation- perhaps misunderstanding might be a more parliamentary word-of the problem of oil marketing I could be excused if I spent a minute or so in describing where the industry stands today. It is of course recognized that oil is Canada's No. 1 mineral resource, and it should be appreciated that, unlike wheat, this industry obtains no assistance from any government with respect to its marketing. Unlike coal, it receives no subvention for its transportation. Unlike mining, it receives no subsidy, and it has not received from the government any direct financial aid other than relief in the form of amendments to taxation statutes.
The problem of Canada's petroleum industry is serious, and I confess that it is a problem the seriousness of which I have had some difficulty in impressing upon members on both sides of this house. I feel we may well be confronted with one of the most difficult economic problems of our time unless we in this house are prepared to show some leadership in reaching a solution. The problem lies in the simple fact that today we can produce some 800,000 barrels of oil per day, while our ability to market is less than one-half this amount. In fact our ability to sell oil either in Canada or in the United States accounts for only about 40 per cent of our possible production. If you take any industry and compare it with the oil industry you can see how serious the situation is. Take coal, gold or wheat, and project the situation that you could market less than one-half your possible production, and then consider that it is costing you $1J million per day to maintain the industry. Then you have the economic equation in its proper perspective.

We in Canada must recognize that our national resources place us in the position where in the eyes of the world we are the country most likely to succeed. However, the difficulties of marketing our oil either in Canada or abroad are such that with a landlocked industry we will undoubtedly encounter a problem which will be one of the most serious this country must face.
A variety of solutions have been suggested, and this matter is of course now before the Borden royal commission. It would therefore be unwise and inappropriate for me to suggest the conclusions which might be reached by this commission, but let me state the following. When you find an industry depressed to the point where less than half its production can be sold; when you find that perhaps less than half the potential of employment is being maintained by that industry in production or development, and when you find that many of the independent companies which to a very large extent depend on their ability to produce and sell oil are becoming far more extinct than the whooping crane, then you can place this problem in its proper perspective. We have in effect only four major independent companies today, whereas ten years ago we had 50 such companies. These concerns, because of the lack of markets, have found that for their very survival they must choose between two alternatives, to amalgamate into a group of companies or to declare themselves bankrupt.
The solution is twofold. We must either be able to sell in an unrestricted manner to areas in the United States which comprise our logical and economic market, or we must be able to develop a process by which we can sell more oil in our own country. The commission, of course, will reach its conclusions on which of these solutions is acceptable. Suffice it to say that if Canada through its highest diplomatic channels is unable to convince the United States of the most urgent need for an understanding by means of which we may ship our oil into the Pacific northwest area, then we have only one logical alternative which, as I say, is to sell more oil by some system in those areas of Canada which today are using foreign crude.
I know when I speak of moving western oil into eastern Canada my friends on both sides of this house, particularly those from Montreal or the eastern Canadian section, will say, "Here is another instance, I suppose, in which eastern Canada is asked to subsidize a western Canadian industry." That is not the case. It is apparent from early reports and engineering studies that oil
The Address-Mr. A. R. Smith can be transported to Montreal and compete with foreign crudes to the extent of about 275,000 barrels per day.
It is also apparent, to me at least, that if we expect to have in our country any form of national unity we must first enjoy economic unity. Not only in the interests of national defence but for the very survival of one of our most important energy sources, if the Borden commission or the government of Canada are unable to come to some conclusion on how we can move our oil into the logical U.S. markets, we will have to look to the Montreal or Toronto refinery centres in order to sell these products. I say we are asking no favour; we merely ask to be allowed to compete with foreign sources of crude from which we are today importing, and I have in mind certain dictatorships.
I would like to turn from oil to another very important problem, that of marketing our natural gas. This subject also, of course, is before the commission, which will have the difficult task of determining whether or not the reserves of this commodity are surplus to the requirement of the whole country or merely to those of a particular province. It is estimated today that we have somewhere between 22 trillion and 27 trillion cubic feet in gas reserve. Most gas producers accept the principle that they have a primary responsibility to first ensure the rights of Canadians to these assets, but here once again we must remember that only to a point can we economically transmit natural gas to places where it is competitive with other fuel sources. It is however not practical to consider that we should keep in the ground for some future time gas supplies which in some distant year may be required.
Hon. members may ask why and the answer, of course, is very simple. Like oil, you cannot turn off the tap of this energy source; you cannot close down your exploration or your development, and you cannot lose the incentive to develop the resource which is expected by us to become one of the greatest resources in the world. I say this because we have 700,000 square miles of geologically favourable land for such development. I say, therefore, that the problem of developing natural gas resources may be expressed simply in this way. First of all, having established a policy for protecting the rights of Canadians, we must then make every effort to export our gas surplus, and benefits from export will come to all Canadians. I say this is for the benefit of Canadians also, because gas is not a simple product but one from which we obtain a great area of secondary industry including the propanes, butanes and ethanes. This resource will produce for Canada secondary industries

The Address-Mr. A. R. Smith producing thousands of consumer goods and will form part of the program of processing raw materials in Canada.
I should like in leaving the subject of oil and gas, to come to a conclusion, namely that we should seek to impress upon our United States friends the necessity for an understanding on selling our products south of the border and, if we fail to do this, call together the provincial premiers and the leaders of the industry and determine how we can work out this problem in the interest of Canadians as a whole, because it is no longer a regional problem but one which will have the widest influence on every section of the Canadian economy.
I should like now to make a reference to a subject which has been described in generalities in the speech from the throne, and to discuss two government agencies, first the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and second Trans-Canada Air Lines, the national air line system of Canada. Of the C.B.C. I would say this. It has become fashionable, both inside the House of Commons and outside it, to criticize the C.B.C. to the extent of members making such remarks as "We should sell the C.B.C. or junk it". I myself have been guilty of pursuing this indoor recreation of criticizing the C.B.C. also, but I think we should temper our criticism by recognizing that had we not had a system of this nature we should not now enjoy the advantages of a national radio broadcasting system.
I agree with the conclusion reached in Mr. Fowler's report that the choice is between a Canadian state-controlled system with some exchange of programs east and west across Canada, with some Canadian content, some development of a Canadian sense of identity, and a system which could hardly provide such features. Enthusiastic as I am about private radio, I do not believe private radio is yet in a position to provide us with network services which will answer these needs. This may however occur in the future. I think, as has been indicated in the speech from the throne and by a statement of the minister concerned with the C.B.C., that we have reached the point where it can no longer be possible for the C.B.C. to be in the position of a competitor and a policeman in the same field. We shall, perhaps, accept Mr. Fowler's opinion that a board of broadcast governors should be established. I agree with the Minister of National Revenue when he said in effect that the day of the single channel policy for television is going to be shortlived. I think it is right that competition should be allowed, or that we should expose the C.B.C. to this competition, because both private and public broadcasting will improve

as a result. I think, too, that the C.B.C. in certain areas, certainly in the most lucrative program line areas, should withdraw part of its programing in order to provide greater incentive for private radio. I think we should recognize that private radio is today developing its own code of ethics, something to guide it so its members will keep within the limitations of good taste. I should like also to say that competition with private radio and television is going to provide a very high standard of radio in Canada.
I believe that the criticism I would direct against the C.B.C. could be summed up in these words. The C.B.C. as a government agency should not be expected to force culture down the throats of Canadians for eight or nine hours a day. I believe also that the CiB.C. or its agency-the station relations division, as it is called-should not be given the task of policing the private radio stations, but that this should be done by a separate board. We should define the rights of the C.B.C.; then we should get off their backs having given an opportunity for private radio to advance. Having done this we should be proud that we have accomplished so much in so short a time with the most important communication media in the world.
I would also say to the minister concerned with the C.B.C. and with radio and television that the VHF system, which is the very high frequencies used in television, could conceivably be taken over somewhat arbitrarily by our friends across the border. The time has come when we may find ourselves short of the very high frequencies for television, and I think we should be in a position to negotiate with the authorities in the United States and be absolutely certain we have given protection to this industry before it is too late.
The other problem which is important to me concerns the air line system of Canada. I want to do nothing more than say that I agree with the sentiments which have been expressed to the effect that Trans-Canada Air Lines does need competition. Having said that, let me suggest to hon. members that we not be too general in our criticism, or describe our air line system as inferior. Let us be specific in remembering that based on its accident record this air line is second to none and that its practices-that is when the aircraft are actually in the air-in my opinion as one who has done a considerable amount of flying make it one of the most efficient air lines of the world.
I, too, have criticism to make of the line's public relations from the ground standpoint. I think the competition which the air transport board may allow would aid materially in improving these public relations at ground level. But I would remind this house that

when we talk about duplicating 10 per cent of the Canadian air line system, taking 10 per cent from it, and then look at the annual report of Trans-Canada Air Lines, realizing that though they enjoyed a 15 per cent gross increase in income their actual net profit was lower by $1 million compared with the previous year, we must assess what is likely to be the future of this undertaking in providing competition.
It will of course be argued that a second air line would automatically increase business, but hon. members must also take note of the fact that the other air lines of the world indicated clearly at their recent conference that although they enjoyed increased passenger volume and gross profits were up, net profits still showed a falling off. I think it is right and proper that T.C.A. should be given competition, but I do not think any air transport board or any government should approve a decision which would place in jeopardy the net equity of a system which contains much that is good in an attempt to improve a particular facet of that air line service.
What I am saying in effect is, let us temper our enthusiasm for providing competition with T.C.A. by remembering the record of performance which this air line has enjoyed in these early years of air transport. We may place this system in considerable jeopardy of falling into the taxpayers' lap as a losing proposition both from the service and financial standpoints. I believe the provision of greater transportation facilities, increased assistance to the development of our airways, and increased financial aid to our airports, as mentioned in the speech from the throne, is sound. I would like to feel, though, that we will encourage our municipalities, as we should have done in the past, to develop their own facilities. If I may say so with some pride, the cities in the province of Alberta have developed their own airports and air terminals. It has been the experience of these municipalities that projects of this nature are sound profit-making utilities which the cities enjoy. We should not take away the incentive of Canadian municipalities to develop what is logically going to be a lucrative operation by placing at their doorstep millions of dollars to do a job which in many instances they are capable of doing themselves.
Our responsibility, of course, is to develop hangar accommodation and runways and see that the bilateral agreement opens an even greater area of opportunity for Canadian transportation. Our responsibility is to regulate the system under which major air lines will fly across this country. However, I am still a free enterpriser and I believe that the
The Address-Mr. Bourque rights, privileges and enjoyment of developing self enterprise at the local level are still paramount.
In these concluding remarks I want to say this. I have dealt specifically with problems of a materialistic nature. Taxation, air lines, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the problems of our petroleum and natural gas industry are all important. But there is another more intangible problem which must be examined by this parliament and by the people of Canada. There is in Canada today a growing nationalism which is enabling Canadians to achieve a better understanding of one another. We now recognize the problems from one end of our country to the other, and the recognition of these problems will undoubtedly produce solutions to them.
We also have the responsibility, however, to be absolutely certain that our nationalism is channeled into a proper field and that it does not get out of perspective. In our attempt to be pro-Canadian we must not unconsciously become anti-American or antianybody. This is a responsibility we have in developing our national identity. We must not become a carbon copy of any other country, but must achieve an individuality of our own as Canadians based on an appreciation of how fortunate we are in our system of government and in the development of our resources. We are proud of our two great cultures, one French, the other English. We should be proud indeed that we are Canadians, but we should always recognize for how much of our success we must thank our Maker. I charge that this is not the responsibility of any particular political party, but rather it is the responsibility of every hon. member of this house.
At one o'clock the house took recess.


[Stage Direction]
AFTER RECESS

The house resumed at 2.30 p.m.
Mr. Romuald Bourque (Ouiremoni-Sl.Jean):: Mr. Speaker, at the opening of this morning's sitting the different party leaders referred sympathetically to the tragic death of Colonel George Flint, and offered condolences. Colonel George Flint was a distinguished soldier and a citizen of the city of Outremont. As mayor of that city I would like to join those who have spoken before me in expressing to his family how deeply touched we were to hear of his sudden passing, and to express to them on behalf of his fellow citizens of the city of Outremont their deepest sympathy.
Last Tuesday, May 20, 1958, Mr. Speaker, I spoke in this house. In that speech I mentioned the menace that "goofballs" constituted

The Address-Mr. Bourque to the youth of our country, and asked that immediate measures be taken by this government to put and end to this illegal traffic in drugs. In Saturday's Montreal Star and Herald I noticed that a gentleman by the name of H. R. Hart, chief of the inspection services of the federal Department of National Health and Welfare, had taken it upon himself to deny the facts mentioned in my speech and brought to his denial many facts that I had not even mentioned or touched upon. I should like now to read into the record the article that appeared in the Montreal Star and Herald on Saturday, May 24, 1958:
Stiffer Penalties Urged
Expert denies suburb has "goofball" problems.
A spokesman for the federal department of National Health and Welfare says it is up to Outremont magistrates to stiffen penalties against violations of the drug act if there is a "goofball" problem in the city.
But H. R. Hart, chief of the inspection services of the department, said there is no "goofball" problem in Outremont.
He was replying to a speech in the commons by Mayor Bourque, Liberal M.P. for Outremont, earlier in the week. The mayor said "goofballs"-mixtures of tranquilizers and barbiturates dissolved in liquids-were being sold illicitly to teenagers in his riding and that federal legislation needed to be stiffened to control the traffic.
Mr. Hart told the Montreal Star yesterday that federal legislation was extremely stiff if maximum penalties were imposed.
Mayor Bourque claimed in his speech that "goofbaU" distribution could not be controlled because tranquilizers and barbiturates were not covered by legislation.
Mr. Hart stressed that all drugs of this type were specifically listed in the federal Food and Drugs Act, policed by his service, and that their distribution and sale was by doctor's prescription only. Heavy penalties were ready for violators, he added.
"This is a matter for the magistrates to make up their minds about", Mr. Hart emphasized.
In an interview with the Montreal Star, Mayor Bourque admitted that $100 fines were imposed in cases of convictions in Outremont.
Mr. Hart said that for a summary conviction for a first offence, a maximum $500 fine plus three months imprisonment could be imposed; a second offence could bring a fine of $1,000 plus six months jail.
And a subsequent offence could bring a fine of $5,000 plus three years in prison.
"Plenty stiff", said Mr. Hart.
He didn't take seriously the term "goofball".
"I heard that one 30 years ago", he said. "It can mean anything the user intends it to mean. It used to mean a mixture of aspirin in a soft drink, and that really didn't do much harm".
A "goofball" generally indicates a combination of stimulant and tranquilizer, taken together.
Mr. Hart conceded that there have been prosecutions of pharmacists in Outremont for illegal sales of medicinals which can only be sold on prescription, and that $100 fines were imposed, in spite of requests from the federal Department of National Health and Welfare for stiffer penalties.
He did not consider distribution of "goofballs" or anything resembling them in Outremont a "problem", however.
Mayor Bourque considers that any situation which may have existed in Outremont has now been

cleared up, and says that he made the speech to bring to the attention of federal authorities a problem which might arise in other Canadian cities.
Notwithstanding this official denial I repeat, Mr. Speaker, that "goofballs" are being sold and Mr. Hart must be asleep at the switch, or evidently he is trying to avoid his responsibility, when he states that "goofballs" are riot being sold. Evidently he hears nothing, sees nothing and does nothing. I have proof that they are being sold, and it is contained in a six-page police report.
When I spoke in the house previously, Mr. Speaker, I said that these tranquilizers or barbiturate pills did not come under the drugs and narcotic legislation and, for that reason, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police criminal investigation branch, are powerless to deal with the problem. The matter rests with the food and drug division of the Department of National Health and Welfare, and the officials concerned can prosecute only if they can locate from whence the pill comes and is offered for sale without a licence. I shall read to you from the report of the director of police after he had made an investigation:
I immediately contacted Inspector Belec of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police criminal investigation branch, and he stated that he would send a member of the drug squad up to see me. Later on, Constable Sauve of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police drug squad came to my office and we discussed this case; he also went with the detectives to see the two boys and stated that he was of the opinion that the drugs mentioned were goofballs and that he would report back to Inspector Belec. The next morning Inspector Belec called me and told me that their investigation had revealed that the drugs used by these boys were goofballs- "barbiturates" or tranquilizing pills, and did not come under the drug and narcotic act, but he told me to call up Mr. St. Onge of the food and drug department of national health and welfare. I contacted Mr. St. Onge by telephone and he told me that he would send an inspector up to see me.
On March 11, Inspector Marcel Deschenes of the food and drug department came to my office and he stated if we could locate Where these pills came from, they could prosecute them for selling without a licence. I sent Mr. Deschenes with Detectives P. Seguin and C. Begin to continue this investigation and they report that they went to see (name of individual) and asked him to come to the station at 7.00 p.m.-
Later on they said:
-They also added that it is very easy to obtain these pills around St. Catherine street and on lower St. Lawrence boulevard, drug stores, pool rooms, etc.
I read a while ago that Mr. Hart said that pharmacists in Outremont had been fined for the illegal sale of "goofballs" and medicines. Mr. Speaker, I absolutely deny ever having said at any time that any Outremont druggists had ever been convicted and fined $100 for selling drugs in contravention of the drug act. I could not say this because I know of

The Address-Mr. Asselin
no such case. We have only about eight (Translation):
druggists in the whole of Outremont. I did say, in the house however, that I believed there had been five or six druggists fined $100 each in Montreal for selling drugs in contravention of the drug act, but I never mentioned Outremont. I do not believe any Outremont druggist has ever been tried on any charge such as this.
Mr. Hart mentioned the city of Outremont throughout his interview. May I say, Mr. Speaker, that I never mentioned the city of Outremont in my speech. I spoke of my riding, which is Outremont-St. Jean and comprises part of Outremont and part of Montreal, but I never used the word "Outremont" in any part of my speech. I cannot see why an officer of a department should bring into his interview names and facts that were not mentioned in the speech he is commenting on. In fact I doubt the propriety of any officer of any department criticizing or denying what has been said by a member in good faith in this house. I said "goofballs" were sold. I repeat, "goofballs" are sold, and if Mr. Hart wants the proof I shall be glad to supply it to him. Before criticizing my speech which contained only the truth he should have at least got in touch with me to see what proof I had to offer.
May I state here that I brought this matter to the attention of the house only after it had been brought to the attention of Mr. Hart's department. I was not talking through my hat when I brought this matter up in the house. I have already read to you an excerpt from a report I received from our director of police under date of March 27, 1958. I repeat what I previously said, Mr. Speaker. There is a serious menace emanating from the sale of "goofballs". Instead of wasting his time denying that a problem exists, Mr. Hart should investigate. I brought this matter up in the house in good faith after proper investigation had been made. I am of the opinion that it ill behooves an officer of a department to try to ridicule and belittle a member after he has made an honest attempt to bring to the attention of the proper authorities a menace that is already a most serious one to the citizens of Canada.
Mr. Hart is acting like the ostrich. Let him pull his head out of the sand and look about. It may prove to be a little bit more tiring than sleeping in his chair; nevertheless in this way he will be earning his salary. A little bit of work might not hurt him. "Goofballs" are being sold. I can furnish Mr. Hart with all the proof necessary if he will wake up long enough to take cognizance of this proof.


Mr. Martial Asselin (Charlevoix):: Mr. Speaker, like the many previous speakers, may I offer you my most sincere congratulations on your appointment to this position of trust, which involves the compelling obligation of faithfully maintaining the sacred character of our parliamentary institutions. Every day, your spirit of justice, honesty and impartiality earns you the esteem and regard of all hon. members of the house.
I should like also to pay homage and respect to the hon. member for Longueuil (Mr. Sevigny) for his appointment as Deputy Speaker of the house. He will, I am sure follow in the footsteps of his father, whom the nation remembers as a gentleman brilliantly dedicated to the service of his fellow citizens.
My congratulations also go to the mover and seconder of the address in reply to the speech from the throne (Messrs. Lafreniere and Nielsen), who have so proudly voiced the aspirations and recommendations of their electors, thus symbolizing the youthful ideal which pervades this parliament.
May I be allowed to offer my congratulations to the hon. members for Lotbiniere and Labelle (Messrs. O'Hurley and Courtemanche) for the mark of confidence given them by the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) when he appointed them respectively Minister of Defence Production and Secretary of State.
But, Mr. Speaker, if there is anyone in this house who deserves the consideration of the people, it is indeed the right hon. Prime Minister who has managed, in a few months, to display to his fellow citizens his qualities of leadership, his great personality, and who has succeeded in giving the Conservative party a new sense of leadership, upholding at the same time the fundamental principles that gave birth to this great party of ours.
I think it would be proper, Mr. Speaker, to offer the Liberal party and its leader (Mr. Pearson) my sincere sympathy for the ordeal they went through on March 31.
I hope the Leader of the Opposition will fully understand the obligations of Her Majesty's loyal opposition and I am asking him to offer constructive criticism in keeping with his political principles. Patience and courage should be essential qualifications for opposition members, because they will have to wait for at least twenty years before they move over to this side of the house.
Mr. Speaker, is there any need to remind you that I represent in this house one of the most beautiful ridings of the province of Quebec? Stretching on the northern bank of
530	HOUSE OF
The Address-Mr. Asselin the St. Lawrence river, my riding offers to all visitors a panorama remarkable for the beauty of its mountains and lakes, and is therefore rightly called "Quebec Switzerland". My riding, Mr. Speaker, extends from Beaupre hill to the mouth of the majestic Saguenay.
I take this opportunity to point out that this year the shrine at St. Anne de Beaupre is celebrating its tercentenary. The authorities of the shrine expect that nearly two million pilgrims will come from the United States and all parts of Canada to this miraculous shrine to reaffirm their faith and their beliefs. May I tender to the Rev. Re-demptorist Fathers my respectful homage for preserving in this shrine at St. Anne de Beaupre the stimulating atmosphere which is so necessary to those who come from afar to put their problems, their trials and their plight at the feet of St. Anne.
Due to its geographic location, Mr. Speaker, the riding of Charlevoix is faced with an extremely important economic problem; I mean the problem of transportation at the three levels; by rail, water and air.
I am happy to recall in this house that our local economy has been given a start by a Conservative government, when the railway connecting Quebec with Murray Bay was built. Also, the memory of Sir Rodolphe Forget, who was Conservative member for the riding of Charlevoix from 1904 to 1917, is deeply rooted in the minds of my fellow citizens, as of a man who, by hard work and devotion, got this railroad built and thus promoted the economic and industrial development of my constituency.
However a newspaper report which appeared in Le Soleil on May 8, 1958, announced to the people on the Beaupre coast that the Quebec Railway intended discontinuing the Quebec-St. Joachim service. This public service, established nearly 50 years ago, is of great convenience to the local population and, if the Department of Transport were to grant the Quebec Railway's request, it would be a setback in the economic development of the district. I therefore wish at this point to draw the attention of the Minister of Transport (Mr. Hees) to the matter so that he may prevail upon the company to maintain its present services.
In order to promote the industrial development of the north shore at Beaupre, Mr. Speaker, it would also be necessary to look into the possibility of relocating the present


railroad line which hugs the shore of the St. Lawrence river. The present route followed by this railway prevents a great many taxpayers from using the land located near the national highway for housing projects of all kinds. Geographically the eastern north shore is so located as to be closely connected with the riding of Charlevoix.
The industrial activity of the north shore, with the construction of a paper mill at Baie Comeau and of the refinery of the Canadian British Aluminum Company Ltd. calls for the construction of a railway in the near future.
When one realizes, Mr. Speaker, that mining production in 1956 in New-Quebec reached $110 million, or 23.5 per cent of the value of the total production for Quebec, which is 465 million, while so far only 5 per cent of the 330 square miles of mineral resources have been explored, it would seem that there is no limit, from the standpoints of quantity or diversity, to the development of these areas. It means that mining development in this district is proceeding at an accelerated rate. But so that mineral products can be shipped outside the area, it should be connected as soon as possible with the province of Quebec's great centres by extending the railway from Murray Bay to Seven Islands. A technical survey has already been made in this respect and it would seem that such construction is possible and less costly if carried out in this way, in view of the fact that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
Mr. Speaker, as my riding is located on the shores of the St. Lawrence, I need hardly say that all forms of navigation are important factors in the commercial and industrial development of that part of the province of Quebec.
There is not a single point in my riding, Mr. Speaker, where shipping does not play a leading part. In places like Petite Riviere, St. Francis, Baie St. Paul, Isle aux Coudres, St. Joseph de la Rive, Murray Bay, St. Irenee, Pointe au Pic, Ste. Catherine and St. Simeon, quite a high percentage of the people count on shipping for their livelihood.
These people make a point of owning their own coasting vessel for that purpose. They like the sea and every spring enjoy trimming their boats in the hope of new adventures. In my riding, navigation is open all year round at two places: Pointe au Pic and St. Irenee. For more than 30 years, navigation has remained open at Pointe au Pic throughout the

winter. Before the railway was built this was the connection point between the south and the north shore. This port at Pointe au Pic has also supplied the north shore with foodstuffs in winter for nearly 15 years. During the winter of 1956-57, 11,000 tons of goods were shipped there for the north shore. Winter navigation has always been possible at Pointe au Pic and St. Irenee because the ice does not accumulate, as it does elsewhere, so that ships can come in, take on a load and leave the port without the help of an ice-breaker, which is always so costly for the government to operate.
I am happy, Mr. Speaker, to congratulate the Conservative government on the interest it takes in winter shipping in the St. Lawrence estuary. The government has surely understood that, in developing winter shipping in this way, it will encourage other industries to take advantage of the cheap power and transportation which the north shore has to offer, and through the establishment there of new industries, increase the population and reduce the cost of living.
As the trend of our economic life largely depends on navigation, improved wharfage is becoming increasingly imperative.
The Liberal government, with its customary lethargy, was content, during its term of office, with mere maintenance works. But to answer the economic needs, it is urgent that substantial improvements be made to the wharves of Pointe au Pic, St. Joseph de la Rive, St. Irenee and Petite Riviere St. Frangois.
Furthermore, in view of the iron ore development in Saint Urbain, the construction of a deep-water wharf is now imperative at Baie St. Paul so as to cut down the shipping costs of iron ore to European countries.
In this connection, may I be permitted to ask the Minister of Public Works (Mr. Green) to consider the possibility of establishing a deep-water wharf at St. Joachim, in order to facilitate the shipment of paper by the Abitibi Paper Co., in Beaupre.
In 1954 the county councils of Charlevoix east and west started to build an airfield in the limits of St. Irenee. To do so the county councils had to obtain the Quebec provincial legislature's permission to borrow $45,000 in order to acquire the necessary land. That was the essential condition set by the former Liberal government so that it would then carry on such construction at its ex-
The Address-Mr. Asselin pense. But, unfortunately, things turned out differently; once the commitments of the county councils had been adhered to, the Liberal government of the time decided to cooperate in the proportion of 2 to 1. Popular subscriptions were launched by the county councils so that they could go ahead with the project and today, it is believed that $75,000 would be needed to complete it. I cannot too strongly urge the government, Mr. Speaker, to grant that $75,000 for the completion of that project, considering the importance of commercial and tourist aviation in my riding.
Agriculture also plays an important part in the economic life of my fellow citizens. Tireless workers, they have realized that farming and forestry are the cornerstone of economic expansion in this country. I congratulate the government upon the invaluable help it gave to our farmers when stabilizing the price of some commodities. Our rural communities are already feeling the beneficial effects of that piece of legislation. I believe it is fair to point out that, due to that piece of legislation, our dairy products have increased from 58 cents to 64 cents a pound. Eggs and pork have also gone up, eggs from 38 cents to 44 cents, and pork from 23 cents to 25.75 cents.
The price stabilization act gave our farmers a glimmer of hope, increased their confidence in the future and brought them substantial income which will enable them to make both ends meet, as their budget is often showing a deficit. Tilling the soil and clearing forests, most of the people back home earn their living in the lumber industry. Two paper mills operate in my riding, one at Beaupre and the other at Clermont.
To keep those mills working, forest products are needed as well as iron-willed strong men to go out into the bush camps.
The gross unfairness prevailing on the pulp-wood market in our part of the country cannot be too strongly condemned, Mr. Speaker. Dealers and buyers compete for the purchase of this wood, often below production cost. It is high time that the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Harkness) appointed a committee of men familiar with this matter who would study pulpwood problems and determine whether it would not be appropriate to ask the Industrial Bank of Canada to finance the creation of small pulpwood companies or co-operatives, in specified districts, to handle the buying and selling of this product in such a way as to avoid our people being victimized by any glaring unfairness in this field.
We would like the Minister of Agriculture to include pulpwood in the price stabilization
532	HOUSE OF
The Address-Mr. Asselin act. The plan would be quite practicable for the profits made by corporations on each ton of paper are well known.
The Conservative government has put an embargo on turkeys and fowl during the last parliament. That legislation, Mr. Speaker, saved fowl and turkey producers in my riding from unavoidable bankruptcy. At last, in the fall of 1957, those producers who had been competing in an unfair market made some profit thanks to this eleventh hour legislation. We hope the government will maintain this embargo for some time, in order to restore this country's fowl market in a permanent way.
(Text):
Now, Mr. Speaker, up to this time the members of the opposition have not impressed me with the manner in which they have dealt with unemployment. They have repeatedly emphasized the existence of unemployment in the country without bringing forward any positive solution to the problem. This way of acting has a disastrous psychological effect on the nation. When one complains about a pain, that pain is emphasized. In the month of June, 1957, the Conservative party, realizing what the situation was, began to adopt all the necessary measures for stopping the economic recession brought about by the Liberal party. The vast program of public works and the development of our natural resources are, in my opinion, the most effective means by which to renew the business activities which are so vital to our country.
(Translation):
The Canadian family, custodian of our traditions and customs is now faced with two major problems, the almost prohibitive cost of education and the alarming increase in the price of consumer goods. I see two ways of helping the Canadian family. The income of the worker should be taxable only over $1,500, and the government should also consider the possibility of increasing family allowances for children up to 16 years of age and continue paying allowances for those who wish to continue their studies after reaching that age.
The result of these two measures would be to increase the buying power of the Canadian consumer and to facilitate the intellectual development of young talents who are so often lost because they lack the financial means to pursue their studies.


Mr. Speaker, I am deeply moved by the praiseworthy efforts made by hon. members to express their thoughts in both official languages. That is an excellent way of demonstrating to the nation the fact that national unity can be achieved in this country. National unity will become a reality through positive action and complete respect for the rights and privileges of this ethnic duality which makes for the strength of the Canadian nation.
Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that the Conservative members of the province of Quebec who sit in this house in a spirit of harmony and understanding are convinced that the Conservative party, under its leader, will respect the confederation pact by granting to all provinces the rights and prerogatives assigned to them in 1867.
In conclusion I would like to thank the electors of Charlevoix-Montmoreney for the confidence they placed in me on March 31 last. Once again I would like to express to them my esteem and my deep gratitude for providing me with this opportunity of taking my place in the parliament of this nation to work together with my colleagues for the greatness and the prosperity of Canada, realizing in this way the ideal of true Canadianism.


Mr. J. T. Richard (Ottawa East):: Mr. Speaker, while you have been repeatedly congratulated in the course of this debate, I know you will not fail to appreciate the sincerity of my own congratulations. The tributes paid to you were deserved ones and I add to them my own wishes for a fruitful term of office. I respect your qualities of honest and impartial judge and at the same time I point out specially your sympathetic and kind attitude toward all your colleagues.
I also congratulate the Deputy Speaker, the hon. member for Longueuil (Mr. Sevigny) even though he is not in the house at this moment. He fills a very important post which will impose upon him a very heavy task during the whole life of this parliament. We already recognize that he possesses the necessary qualities to fill his duties very successfully.
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of representing as many others have said but in my case it is true, the finest constituency in Canada. In fact, as you know, it is quite close to Parliament Hill, along the majestic Ottawa river. It is bound on one side by the Rideau river and on the other by the Rideau canal. For the benefit of those who have not read about it in history books, may I mention that it

The Address-Mr. J. T. Richard
was in my constituency, at Nepean point that year. This year, the government has merely
during one of his exploration trips, Champlain landed. Incidentally a society has erected a monument to his memory on that very spot. Furthermore, it was Champlain who named the Rideau river waterfall that runs into the Ottawa river, close by the French embassy, as well as the Rideau river which takes its source in the St. Lawrence, 120 miles from Ottawa.
Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, the only bilingual university in America, the University of Ottawa is in my constituency; the only great French daily outside the province of Quebec is also there as are numerous educational institutions. I am also privileged in having in my constituency the official residence of the right hon. Prime Minister as well as that of the hon. Leader of the Opposition. As you see, I am in good company. Moreover, I must add-and this is what counts most-that I am very happy to have within my riding a charming and intelligent population which has always preserved the respect of its civil, political and religious tradition. I am pleased to have the opportunity to thank those people for re-electing me for a fifth term of office.
Barely six weeks after the general election, we met in order to listen to the speech from the throne. This document contains a very heavy program of projects which the government intends to have approved. However, we are entitled to wonder if, under the present circumstances, where we are suffering from an economic recession and a period of unemployment, the government has submitted the best means to solve these problems.
I remember very well that during the campaign, government candidates had a great deal to say about this public works program worth one billion dollars or more, and designed to solve unemployment. We have no objection whatever to public works. Everybody is quite happy to see them carried out, but it is a recognized fact that new projects cannot be undertaken fast enough. Certain projects require agreement between both levels of government, others necessitate the acquisition of land and of businesses, or require the drawing up of plans, of architectural or engineering designs. In fact public works do not provide employment until many months or years after it has been decided to carry them out.
There have been striking examples of this here, in Ottawa. We have always had public works going on. Work on the building on Booth street is now in its third or fourth
carried on construction work on the building which will house the offices and laboratories of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys. For years we have had buildings going up on Wellington street, the latest meant for the Department of Trade and Commerce. Before that we had construction of a building for the Department of Veterans' Affairs. All those works had already been started and they are not works likely to prevent a recession such as the one we are witnessing at this time.
However, let us just the same examine the public works program in the light of the estimates tabled by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Fleming), and let us see what they really are.
Does the government really propose, as it has announced, to make this huge sum of $1,185 million available for public works as a means of curing unemployment?
Mr. Speaker, the answer is no. The Minister of Finance has included in this amount the normal annual program of public works and maintenance which is regularly submitted to the approval of parliament, including projects already started by the Liberal government, such as the St. Lawrence seaway, the northern Ontario pipeline, and so on. Those projects would have been carried out even if we had had full employment.
Incidentally, I suggest to the Minister of Public Works (Mr. Green), who lives in the city of Ottawa and has the opportunity to have a look at the numerous federal buildings, to see to it that the temporary buildings here in Ottawa are painted. The time would be well chosen since we are inviting important personalities from abroad and even a member of the royal family, Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret who will visit us next August. I hope that among the works intended to be carried out in order to help alleviate unemployment, the minister will have a coat of paint given to all the frame buildings in the city of Ottawa.
I also suggest to the government, if it wants to carry out useful public works, to undertake the construction of the interprovincial bridge between Hull and Ottawa. The federal government could entrust the Federal District Commission with that task, since that bridge would connect lands and roads on each side of the river which have been laid out by that agency. I would also suggest to the government that it take heed of the financial

The Address-Mr. J. T. Richard difficulties of the municipalities. The government could make it easier to give work to a large number of unemployed by lending money to municipalities at reduced rates of interest so as to make it possible for them to implement urgent public undertakings.
You might have had the opportunity, since you have arrived in Ottawa, to notice that like a large number of other municipalities, we have miles and miles of roads and sidewalks which should be replaced by better constructed roads and sidewalks.
(Text):
I repeat that for several years this problem of the interprovincial bridge has been bandied around in parliament. It was mentioned by hon. members on this side of the house during the last campaign. I think there is only one solution. It is no use waiting for the provinces of Ontario and Quebec to decide whether they will agree to contribute 15 per cent, 20 per cent, or 30 per cent of the cost. I think this government could at this time initiate this project as' a public work and pay the whole cost of building the bridge.
I mention this bridge because it is in my constituency. I think that as a nation we cannot be very proud of the fact that we have so many rivers in this country which are spanned by so few bridges. I do not know how these things are done in the old country, in Europe, Asia and other places. They have important streams and rivers, but somehow or other in a site similar to this there would be four or five bridges. I do not anticipate that there will be any bombing attacks and that people may have to run across to the other side of the river, but it would be a fatal situation for people on this side if they had to cross the bridge we have in order to seek refuge in the Gatineau hills.
I am sure the hon. member for Carleton (Mr. Bell) will agree with what I have said. He will support my contention that the government of Canada could contribute the whole cost of this project and undertake, in addition, to provide the necessary funds for the federal district commission to build some of the bridges which he himself has in mind and which are closer to the limits of his own constituency.
(Translation):
And now, Mr. Speaker, I should like to deal briefly with the unemployment situation, or rather since I have already spoken of the unemployment which is rife in the city of Ottawa and throughout the country, I will remind the house that one of the most difficult problems we have to face at this time is that of inflation.

(Text):
I am obviously in some difficulty because I am switching from English to French. I will go back to English, because I understand some of my hon. friends would not understand this important piece of elocution unless I continue my remarks in English.
Another great danger faces us now, and it is not so much the danger of unemployment as the danger of inflation. People who are out of work and in receipt of unemployment relief are faced with an increase in the price of food and necessary commodities. Although I am not a farmer, I am all in favour of support prices and a fair return, but there cannot be two ways about it; prices must be stabilized or wages will be increased, and those who are without jobs will require more help and assistance than they presently enjoy.
This government cannot allow prices to spiral further, and should give fair warning that it will ask parliament for the power to apply the necessary controls to our economy if necessary. There are far too many men and women in Canada who are not enjoying their proper share of the necessities of life because of high interest rates, low wages, and the cost of living generally.
I notice that one of the most important papers in the country printed an editorial today suggesting that it was "all hogwash" to mention that people were not enjoying the necessities of life in this country. It is true that in Canada we do not have the poverty and the suffering experienced in certain other countries which were more severely affected by the last war, but in a young country as prosperous and as rich as our own it should not be necessary today to have so many welfare and church agencies assisting our people to obtain the bare necessities of life. I do not blame any particular government for this; I just say it should be our aim that every Canadian should share in the riches produced in this country.
I have heard a great deal said about trade, and I suppose I am just as much an expert on this subject as are some of the hon. members who have spoken. I think the long-range solution to our problems is trade, but the best order of preference for trade is, I maintain, to support first of all our Canadian market at home. We must institute a campaign among our people to buy first in Canada. It is well and right to talk about diversion, or about trading in certain areas, but it is very important to see first of all that we keep our own people at work in industry.

I have here a publication put out by the Canadian Manufacturers Association and published in May, 1958, and I am going to read it. It is entitled "A Wise Canadian".
Canada's manufacturing industry employs no fewer than one and a quarter million Canadians. They depend for their pay cheques on the industry being able to sell the goods they produce to Canadians, as, indirectly, do tens of thousands of workers in other industries.
But, note this: Canadian purchases of foreign-made goods have risen enormously in the last two or three years, and are now running at an annual rate in excess of $1,400 per Canadian family! Import buying on such a scale is both foolhardy and dangerous.
The warning recently given by H. V. Lush, president of the Canadian Manufacturers Association, is timely: "Every purchase of an import at the expense of its Canadian-made equivalent is a blow struck at a Canadian worker somewhere. Of course, it never enters the head of the unthinking buyer that he or she is hurting a fellow-Canadian, but obviously, a foreign article purchased means a comparable Canadian article left on the shelf.
Goods left on shelves don't swell payrolls. They do the reverse. They reduce them and it's quite possible that a shrinking payroll may cause the loss of a job to a neighbour, a friend, even a relative. In fact, one could go so far as to say that a careless wife who made a practice of discriminating against Canadian-made products, albeit unconsciously, could indirectly jeopardize the job of her own husband!"
I think that speaks for itself. We Canadians must awaken to the fact that we should buy Canadian goods first.


Mr. Fraser:: Too bad the Liberals did not think of that when they were in power.


Jean-Thomas Richard: I am sure if at any time they were guilty of such excesses in that regard there was a great deal of probing on the part of the opposition we had at that time.


Gordon Knapman Fraser: You are wrong there.


Jean-Thomas Richard: That is only the hon. gentleman's opinion.
The next important factor in trade, of course, is to keep our markets abroad and this again relates to the diversion of trade from the United States. The best customer Canada has is the United States of America, and we cannot afford to lose that customer. Some correction should be made by this government in the near future so the United States will not take too seriously the flippant attitude held by some hon. members opposite. I was very glad to hear a young Conservative but a very bright one, the hon. member for Calgary South (Mr. Smith), say this morning that we should be good Canadians but that does not mean we should be anti-American. Of course the ridings in Canada are not the same and some people are politically inclined to forget on occasion what is the general good. I do hope I am not imputing any motives to hon. members in saying this.
The Address-Mr. J. T. Richard
In any event we will have to extend our markets throughout the world. We are now talking about peace and increased co-operation with the U.S.S.R. If we ever achieve that kind of hopeful situation about which we talk so much we will have to do a lot of peddling to win markets from the U.S.S.R. on the basis of even competition. (Translation) :
And I would now like to congratulate the member for Labelle (Mr. Courtemanche) who has recently been appointed Secretary of State. I hope that he will gain for himself a good reputation as a leader in a department which has been too long neglected. I am confident that he will get down to work immediately and that he will be able to provide us with the assistance we have been looking for for a number of years. And, to be perfectly fair, I must include here the administration that preceded that of the Conservative party.
(Text):
I am, of course, pointing these remarks in the direction of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (Mrs. Fairclough). I have just congratulated the new Secretary of State (Mr. Courtemanche). I am sorry the hon. lady who was the former secretary of state did not have a long enough tenure of office to do the many things which we expected she would accomplish in the different branches which came under her jurisdiction, prior to her appointment to the position she now holds. However, I might say for her benefit and the benefit of all those who are here that she acquired the reputation of being a very friendly and efficient minister in the Department of Secretary of State, although I must express regret that she was unable to retain the location of the patent office in the centre of the city as so many of us requested last year.
The present Secretary of State will, I hope, have an opportunity to remain in his post long enough to become closely acquainted with the several branches for which he answers to this house.


John Whitney Pickersgill: Not too long; just four years.


Jean-Thomas Richard: The tenure of office of the secretary of state in this country has never been very long. Whether a government has stayed in office for 22 years or for one year, those who have occupied the post of secretary of state have held it for too short a period. That includes the hon. member for Essex East (Mr. Martin) who was minister of that department for too short a time.
I appreciate that the present minister will have to familiarize himself with the workings

The Address-Mr. J. T. Richard of the civil service commission, and I hope he may soon announce that he is ready to submit to this house a revised Civil Service Act. I understand that the commission is at present engaged in making a study of civil service legislation in other countries and will make suggestions to the government at an early date. I have requested a revision of this act for many years.
I would suggest to the Secretary of State that he bring some pressure to bear on the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister to raise the pensions of retired civil servants. This is a very urgent problem for many of these faithful servants, and one which should receive top priority. The question of entirely inadequate superannuation for retired *civil servants is an old and sad story which has often been recounted on the floor of this house. These people suffer actual hardship, want, deprivation and perhaps even malnutrition. This government promised during the last session to do something about this problem. The time has come to quit talking and do something in this regard. I believe it was estimated last session by some bon. members that it would cost in the neighbourhood of between $5 million and $10 million to cover the adjustment of these pensions. The number of people in this category diminishes with the years. Many have already died and many others, of course, have not too many years to go. I urge this government to act on its promise and do something tangible about the superannuation of retired civil servants, instead of just talking about it.
While I am dealing with the Department of *Secretary of State I might ask the minister also to acquaint himself with the work of the royal commission on patents, trademarks and copyrights. I understand that some of the work has been completed, and I hope the reports will be tabled as soon as they have been received by the minister and the government.
The speech from the throne refers to the enactment of a new national capital act to replace the present Federal District Commission Act. I am very anxious to examine the proposals which are to be contained in this act. The former Liberal government had prepared similar legislation which was not proceeded with. I urge all new hon. members who are not familiar with the national capital plan to acquaint themselves with it. I would suggest that they make inquiries for literature, information and maps from the information branch of the federal district commission, which has an excellent and competent staff.
Hon. members who study the problems of the national capital are confronted with the fact that there is no official approved plan.

This has given rise to many misgivings and misunderstandings. The citizens who reside in the city of Ottawa and surrounding areas are handicapped by the uncertainties created by the possible expropriation of their land for parks or roadways, or by the possible restriction of their right to erect buildings of their choice. The government should immediately request the assistance of the province of Ontario and the municipalities within the national capital area to approve a proper plan and give it the necessary legal force and effect.
Over the years the federal district commission has bought most of the land needed for the new parkways. Perhaps it has been because of this-federal district commission energy, enterprise and finances going into this land acquisition program-that very little actual parkway construction on the Ottawa side has been done. Now is the time to get to work on it. Construction of the Ottawa river parkway and the new east and west parkways would not only add to the beauty of the national capital but would make a very considerable contribution toward relieving unemployment in the Ottawa-Hull area. The planning has all been done and the land has been acquired. This government should allow the federal district commission, properly financed, to proceed with these parkways.
I understand that the cost of the parkway from Lazy bay to Britannia would be under $2 million, but that expenditure would afford a great deal of relief to unemployment in this area and at the same time would provide the national capital with one of the most beautiful parkways in its proposed plan.
There is another matter that interests us a great deal, namely the matter of transportation in the city of Ottawa. In an ordinary city, of course, this would not be a matter of interest to the federal government or should not relate itself to the federal government. I am sure that one of the greatest problems that has been facing the Ottawa transportation system over the past few years has been the fact that the government buildings have been decentralized. This has given rise to the creation of new systems of transportation by bus over new routes which pay at the peak hours but are not paying at all at other hours. In any event, this same system of transportation is one that must provide civil servants with transportation to buildings in Tunney's Pasture, the national research building and the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation building as well as other establishments. Then, of course, there will be this new area near Hog's Back where the government is erecting more office buildings.

This service is now operated at a loss to the Ottawa transportation commission, and I believe the time has come for the government to think about paying a standby service charge to the Ottawa transportation commission on an annual basis in much the same way as grants are paid under the Municipal Grants Act.
I would also suggest to the government that it take great care to study the methods followed in acquiring land for the purpose of the national capital plan. The Expropriation Act in its present form is, in my opinion, a very unfair instrument and should be used sparingly. I have repeatedly requested the Minister of Justice to study the Expropriation Act and the methods of acquiring land by the Department of Public Works and the federal district commission. I hope I will be more successful in the present parliament, especially in view of the fact that it is proposed by this government in the speech from the throne to acquire a great acreage of land, known as the green belt, outside of the limits of the city of Ottawa.
(Translation):
Mr. Speaker, I should like also to address myself to the government and ask the Minister of Finance (Mr. Fleming) to help our university and college students. I suggest that more scholarships be granted our students through the medium of the Federation of Universities rather than through the medium of politicians. I would also suggest to the Minister of Finance to allow parents of students to deduct, for income tax purposes, the expenses incurred either in the way of tuition fees, books, instruments or living costs while studying in other cities.
You know as well as I do, Mr. Speaker, that the situation of the students is very difficult this year. Having no work to help them out, hundreds and perhaps even thousands of them will not have the required funds next fall to carry on their studies. And in addition to that, I noted recently that the Department of National Defence had given instructions not to employ for more than two week periods university students graduated as officers. This is a pity, because those students, apart from being good officer material and able to improve their training, thus indirectly received the amounts enabling them to continue their studies in the universities.
Finally, Canada is always spoken of as a great nation and a lot is also said about national unity and the part we play in the world. I am only referring briefly again to this matter. I am in favour of a distinctive national flag. I hope that during the present parliament, hon. members will express their views and preferences on the subject. Ten
The Address-Mr. McFarlane years from now, we shall celebrate the centenary of the Canadian Confederation. We are proclaiming ourselves everywhere as one nation; but, in order to rally the people, we must have a distinctive flag. It is up to us to take action so that all Canadians may proudly salute their country's flag and make this emblem known and respected by every other nation in the world.
(Text):


Mr. M. L. McFarlane (Kootenay East):: Mr. Speaker, I would like at this time to add my belated congratulations to you personally on. your election to the office that you now hold. Being a new member of this august assembly and from what I have noticed during the past two weeks I sincerely feel, Mr. Speaker,, that you will preside with impartiality and justice to all hon. members. I also wish to express my best wishes to the Deputy Speaker and to the deputy chairman of committees of the whole house. I am sure that could the constituents of Kootenay East, whom I represent, be present in the galleries they would also feel that no more competent choices could be made at the opening of the house than that of the incumbents of those positions in this house.
I also wish to congratulate the mover (Mr. Lafreniere) and the seconder (Mr. Nielsen) of the address in reply to the speech from the throne. Naturally I am not in full agreement with all of their suggestions but I am convinced that many of them are worthy of consideration at the proper time.
Firstly, I would like to express publicly my appreciation to the supporters from Kootenay East. I wish to thank the key men in the various parts of our constituency and also all those who contributed in any way toward my election and my presence here today. Had it not been for the policies presented by the other candidates in our constituency, who promised everything from the cradle to the grave, things would have been different. During our campaign the constituents in many instances preferred forums and after listening to the other three candidates present their programs and promises there was little left for me to promise any of my constituents. All that I promised was good government, and I am certain that the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) will carry out the promise that I made at that time.
I would like to thank the Prime Minister publicly for his leadership of the Conservative party. When the history of parliament is written we shall And that he will head the list as one of Canada's leading statesmen. I should also like publicly to thank the Minister of Transport (Mr. Hees) and the Minister of

The Address-Mr. McFarlane Agriculture (Mr. Harkness) for their assistance during the election campaign.
The constituency of Kootenay East is situated in the southeastern section of the province of British Columbia and is one of the least known sections of the province, although it is approximately 300 miles long and 200 miles wide, including approximately 50,000 square miles of territory. Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, considers that the province consists of Vancouver and the lower mainland. Any place in the interior is riot considered. In Ottawa we are likewise unknown which is substantiated by the fact that little has been done for the constituency during the past 20 years. In many instances the people of Alberta feel that Kootenay East is a part of Alberta and is a wealthy section.
We have a very difficult constituency to cover and when the election was called on February 1, I had a vision of campaigning in inclement weather over slippery roads, through heavy snows and rough weather to boot. But, true to the tradition of the Conservative party, the Prime Minister lived up to his promises and gave us typical Diefenbaker weather as a promise of better things to come. This type of weather had not been known in the Kootenays since the last Conservative government.
In order to assist the people in the area and also the people from Vancouver and Vancouver Centre, Mr. Speaker, I should like to familiarize you with the promised land and I should like to take you on a short tour of Kootenay East.
In the southern section of the Kootenay we have our agricultural assets. In this area we grow apples, soft fruits, wheat, grains of all kinds and hay. Here we produce the best apples in Canada. At the present time we have 15,000 acres under wheat cultivation on reclaimed land which also grows many kinds of other grains including, as I stated before, our hay crop. It is hoped that the Minister of Agriculture will consider support prices for the products of this district. We are especially proud of our apple crop but in order to survive we must be able to dispose of our produce.
The fruit industry in the Creston valley can supply sufficient apples for the three western provinces but owing to provincial regulations the export out of the province Is confined and many thousands of pounds of apples are left to waste for lack of markets which are available in the prairies provinces. With proper legislation we could place apples in every home in the prairie provinces at a price that the consumer could afford to pay. It is now possible, by the fast movement of transportation from the producing areas to the consumer areas, that fruit on the trees


today can be on the consumer's table tomorrow. We should give a great deal of thought to this feature of our economy. For many years we have lived in an era whereby transportation was a main item but now times have changed and I think our legislation should be brought up to date. We must make possible the disposition of our fruit products so that our farmers can survive, and I feel that now is the time to take the necessary action. This is a major factor in helping to re-establish and to increase fruit farming in the Kootenay valley.
Next on our tour through Kootenay East, Mr. Speaker, I should like to take you into my home town of Cranbrook. Here we have an aggressive community with a population of 6,000 and serving another 2,000 in the immediate rural area. It is an exceptionally good tourist centre. We have a beautiful municipal tourist park and many other tourist centres in the area. It is a natural stop between Spokane, Washington and Banff, Alberta and our tourist importance is increasing year by year. The city itself is well laid out, with wide streets and all facilities. Taking it all in all, it is one of the most progressive cities in the interior. Our airport is open all the year round and is kept in excellent condition by our city employees. At this time I should like to request the Minister of Transport seriously to consider our request to lengthen the runways for the larger planes that are now required for the increasing traffic.
On leaving Cranbrook I should like to take you to the little city of Kimberley, twenty miles to the north, the home of the largest lead and zinc mine in the world, with the concentrator and fertilizer plants nearby. Here we also have a very progressive community with a population of 9,000. The homes are attractive and well looked after. They also have an excellent militia force but are lacking in facilities. I have been advised that the new armoury building which was to have been built last year has been cancelled. I respectfully request, that the Minister of National Defence (Mr. Pearkes) reconsider the request of the Kimberley unit and the Kimberley people for an armoury in that city. A visit to Kimberley is a "must" when in the district. The welcome mat is out to visitors at any time.
On leaving Kimberley, Mr. Speaker, I wish to take you up to the beautiful Windermere valley. We have two hot springs in this area, one privately owned and one located in the national park at Redman. This is a beautiful area and I would certainly recommend a visit to this section of our constituency. Owing to the increasing number of tourists passing through the park last year-there were over

700,000	last year-I would request that some consideration should be given by the Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources (Mr. Hamilton) to the park facilities in this area. This will be a major item in the not too distant future, which will further be aggravated by the completion of the trans-Canada highway which passes through that area.
Also in the valley we have the headwaters of the Columbia and the Kootenay rivers. Many years ago a canal was constructed between the two rivers, with the thought in mind that this would lead to navigation and development of both the Kootenay and Columbia rivers. Old timers of that area advise me that only one boat passed through the canal and that since that time it has gradually deteriorated into disuse. At the present time we are still waiting for the decision of the governments of Canada and the United States as to the construction of the Libby dam in Montana in the United States. A considerable study was made of the water systems of Eritish Columbia and special attention was paid to the construction of Libby dam and the upstream benefits which British Columbia would derive from the construction of this dam. The study was made by the international joint commission and, after two years, was completed in 1950. For eight years we in the Kootenay have waited for some action on the part of the federal government to complete this dam.
Also there is the matter of the proposed construction of Mica dam on the Columbia river in the northern part of the Kootenay area. I would also request the Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources to finalize this work. We are in need of power in Kootenay East. Without power we are in a position of not being able to bring in industry or to bring in the various items that would contribute to the economy of our area.
On returning to my home town I should like to take you out to the city of Fernie. The city of Fernie at the present time is, or I should say was, a coal mining area. Last February the mines closed and we are now hoping and very seriously asking for the support of the government to assist in sponsoring new development along other lines. Had the government during the past twenty years had the vision which the Prime Minister has at the present time and which is required for good administration, the coal situation, especially in the Crowsnest pass area and in the areas of Alberta would not be in the dire situation in which it is today. The handwriting was on the wall in large letters ten years ago when the railways converted to oil burning locomotives, thus practically eliminating the commercial market. The domestic market for coal is not sufficient to keep the
The Address-Mr. McFarlane mines operating except for a short time during the winter months. No action was taken by the previous government to make available a substitute industry to replace the coal industry which up to 1947 was a major item in the economy of Kootenay East. I am of the opinion that this area should be classed as a distress area and that immediate action should be taken by the Minister of Public Works (Mr. Green) and the Minister of Transport to alleviate the unemployment situation.
Fernie is a one-industry town. They have depended on the coal industry since early in the 1900's in order to maintain their city. We must have some other means by which to take up the slack until new developments are made or new industries come into the area.
I believe, personally, that at some future time, perhaps not in our generation but a little later, coal will once again come into its own, not as a heating product but as a component for manufacturing other commodities. I would urge this government to give serious consideration to the many sug-questions that have been made in this connection. It is my belief that many of the suggestions made by various interested parties in the Fernie district are quite feasible.
I should like also to make reference to the gas pipe lines. We are now in the midst of running gas pipe lines all over this great Canada of ours. Trunk lines are being established in Alberta, and in many cases they will go through the southern section of British Columbia. I would ask the Minister of Transport to make sure that when any future contracts are let for the construction of pipe lines to our area the gas will be available to the residents of British Columbia and that the rates charged will be comparable to that charged consumers at the other end of the pipe line.


Harold Edward Winch: And not more than that cost.


Murray Lincoln McFarlane: I might mention that there is quite a difference between the cost and the rate.
The next subject to which I shall refer is a trans-Canada highway. This highway has, as yet, not been completed. I want to tell the Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Works that we have waited for 20 years to have a trans-Canada highway through our section of the country. There are practically 40 miles of new road to be constructed before the trans-Canada highway will be completed in British Columbia. This trans-Canada highway would be useless in time of need because, at the moment one has to use a ferry which takes 40 minutes to cover a short distance.

The Address-Mr. R. Muir
I should like to remind all hon. members that this year is the centennial of British Columbia. I do not know whether or not the federal government has made any plans to have members of the various constituencies present at some of the centennial functions. However, I would suggest that representatives of the various districts be given permission to attend functions and represent the federal government during this centennial year.
In spite of the many local problems that exist in our constituencies I believe that we are now well past the many hurdles in forming a new Canadianism. As a result of a peaceful revolution by the electors on March 31 of this year the Conservative party has been granted a mandate to bring the Canadian people out of the doldrums in which they have been for a considerable time. Many of our problems have been brought about by the lack of forethought by the previous administration, but under the leadership we now have our lost prestige can be restored and Canada may once again take her place as one of the leading nations of the world.


Mr. Robert Muir (Cape Breton North and Victoria):: I rise at this time, Mr. Speaker, to take part in this debate, and in doing so I deem it a pleasure and a privilege to congratulate you upon your re-election to the high position which you now hold. I should like to concur in the remarks of the many hon. members who have preceded me when they mentioned your fine qualities which so aptly fit you for your high office. May I also join with other hon. members in extending my best wishes to the hon. member for Longueuil (Mr. Sevigny) upon his appointment as Deputy Speaker, and to the hon. member for Spadina (Mr. Rea) upon his election as deputy chairman of committees. I have not any doubt that they will bring honour and dignity to the positions they now hold or that they will rule justly and fairly.
I should like also at this time to extend my congratulations to the mover (Mr. Lafre-niere) and seconder (Mr. Nielsen) of the address in reply to the speech from the throne upon the excellent manner in which they carried out their first assignment in this house. Their constituents can well be proud of their representatives.
My first words in this debate must be words of gratitude to the electors of my riding for once again placing their faith in me and sending me back to this house as their representative. I shall do my utmost to justify the confidence they have placed in me.
In his remarks the other day the hon. member for Queens-Lunenburg (Mr. Crouse)
[Mr. MeFarlane.l

cited many firsts to the credit of the province of Nova Scotia. I should like now to mention another that occurred in my own constituency of Cape Breton North and Victoria. I refer to the landing of John Cabot on the North American continent. I doubt if the hon. members from Newfoundland will appreciate my remarks on this subject. However, since I am not an authority on the matter I shall refer them to those who are. I would direct your attention to the following paragraph which appears in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, eleventh edition, volumes 3-4, page 922:
Cabot set sail from Bristol on Tuesday, the 2nd of May, 1497 on board a ship called the "Mathew", manned by 18 men. At length, after being 52 days at sea, at five o'clock on Saturday morning, June 24, they reached the northern extremity of Cape Breton Island. The royal banner was unfurled, and in solemn form Cabot took possession of the country In the name of King Henry VII. Cape North was named "Cape Discovery", and St. Paul island, which lies opposite, was called the island of St. John.
I know that all historians do not agree as to the actual site of the Cabot landfall but the preponderance of historical findings point to Cape North in northern Cape Breton. This location is the one most generally accepted today. A few of the authorities who favour Cape Breton are as follows: Dr. S. E. Dawson, Royal Society of Canada; Rev. M. Harvey, LL.D., St. John's, Newfoundland; Mon. d'Avezac, Geographical Society of France; Dr. Charles Deane, Boston; Sir John Bourinot, C.M.G., a widely recognized authority in this house; J. Carson Breevort, Astor library, and J. F. Nieholls, city librarian, Bristol, England. I may say that there are many others.
I should like also to refer to an article that appeared in the national geographical society magazine, the issue of April, 1949, on this subject. An excerpt from that article is as follows:
The world map of Juan de la Cosa, compiled in 1500 shows the English exploration of the North American coast from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, to Long island.
I do not wish to take up any more of the time of the house at this point, but I do feel that this information should be on the record.
I desire now to turn to the subject of housing. I am sure all hon. members were pleased to learn in the speech from the throne that this government was continuing a vigorous program of house-building. In order to fulfil this program an additional $350 million has been voted. The Minister of Public Works (Mr. Green) is to be commended upon the fine work he is doing in this connection. However, I should like to draw the minister's attention to the fact that the people of my riding are not benefiting to any degree from this legislation.

It has been said that this money will be used for direct loans in small centres and also that it is not the intention of the government to have these Canadians by passed, but it is my firm belief that many such people have been by passed because they cannot meet the stringent regulations of the act, even with the amendments of recent date. That is the reason for the small percentage of housing starts in the province of Nova Scotia. The people themselves are certainly not to blame and I have personal knowledge of a number of such people who have approached the lending institutions without success because of the reluctance of these same institutions to do business with them.
I would ask the minister to give this urgent problem his most serious consideration with an eye toward investigating the situation very thoroughly. We can sit here and vote some more millions but that would certainly not be beneficial to those who need it most because they are unable to take advantage of the legislation for the reasons I have already mentioned.
There are many people in this category in my own constituency. While on the subject of housing, I would like to deal briefly with a problem confronting approximately 60 to 75 coal miners who are at the present time in my home town of Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. These men have been transferred from the Springhill disaster area in Nova Scotia to the Princess colliery at Sydney Mines for the purpose of employment. Many of them are the heads of families and they have had to leave their homes in Springhill, thus contributing to a serious housing shortage in my town. A great number of them came through the hell of a mine explosion, which is certainly bad enough, but they are now faced with the bleak prospect of having nowhere to go. I would ask the minister to have a representative of Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation go into this area to meet with the civic, company and the union officials and to lend assistance and give advice with a view to finding a solution to the problem of these men. It is only within the last few days that I have had a further request for assistance in this matter from the hon. Stephen T. Pyke, minister of public works for the province of Nova Scotia.
At this point I had intended to spend some time in discussing the Port Edward naval base, which has already been mentioned in this house, but today the hon. member for Cape Breton South (Mr. Mac-Innes) and myself have been informed by the Department of National Defence that the
The Address-Mr. R. Muir Algerine class coastal escort H.M.C.S. Wal-laceburg, which has been held in reserve will be refitted at the Port Edward naval base, Sydney, Nova Scotia. The refitting of this ship will employ practically the whole of the complement of the base for a period of some four months. In addition it is announced that a contract in the amount of over $500,000 has been let for a new steam heat system for the naval base. Construction work on this project is expected to commence shortly and will, as far as possible, utilize the local labour force.
We were very pleased indeed to receive this information, which is of great importance to the people of the area to know that they may be kept on their jobs. As I have said, we are very grateful, but this is only a stopgap. I referred to this base in the debate on the address in reply to the speech from the throne last year and at that time I suggested to the minister concerned that something of a permanent nature should be established. It is most unfortunate that we have to engage in a war before the value of this base is realized and I am still of the opinion that there should be a dispersal of naval units from some other parts of the country to this area. I would once again urge the minister and the government in the interval to give every consideration to this suggestion before any harsh steps are taken with respect to this base.
While on this subject I might say that it has been brought to my attention on several occasions that some sections of the press and also some people in writing to the press have inferred that the quality of the work performed at this base has been inferior. This inference applies to the work performed on ships turned over to the Turkish government under the Mutual Aid program, and such statements are to my mind bred from ignorance of the facts. Let me say for the record here and now that we have as capable and as killed workmen at this base as are to be found anywhere in Canada, and any allegations to the contrary have been refuted officially by both the representatives of the Turkish embassy and of the Royal Canadian Navy. Statements of this nature do nothing to enhance the good name of Cape Bretoners and I would suggest that in the future anyone making a statement of like nature should first search out the true facts.
I would now like to say a word about coal. Coming from a coal mining area I was very pleased with the recent announcements with respect to an increase in the coal subvention and, as I understand it, the maximum assistance payable in the future on shipments from the maritimes to central Canada will be $5.?'

The Address-Mr. R. Muir instead of $4.75 for rail and water movements and 65 per cent of freight rates instead of 45 per cent for all rail movements. This should give our coal a better advantage in competing against United States coal in Ontario than it has had in the past. In addition, there was an offer to pay $4 per ton on the movement of coal to Europe.
These announcements, following the passing of legislation during the last session of parliament with respect to a plan for subsidizing coal used in the production of power in the Atlantic provinces, are further indications of the special consideration given by the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) to our problems in the provinces by the sea. Such assistance is very welcome and I repeat we are truly grateful.
May I say, however, that we have just scratched the surface of the problems affecting the coal industry. The coal miners of Nova Scotia have co-operated to the fullest extent and, as a result, the production per man has greatly increased. This increase in production, together with a decrease in the markets, has contributed to a surplus stock which at the present time is close to one million tons. This condition is not a healthy one and I would suggest that this government should take steps to have the powers of the dominion coal board expanded to include an aggressive policy for finding markets for coal.
The matter of subventions remains one of the most important factors in the survival and the progress of our coal industry. It is the opinion of those most closely connected with the problems of the industry that subventions should be placed on a five-year guaranteed basis, instead of on the present basis of renewal from year to year. I understand that the operators state they cannot sell coal to customers on long-term contracts while subventions are guaranteed for only one year at a time. There is great hope of finding new markets in Britain or on the continent of Europe, but it is risky to enter into a long-term contract with the British coal board or with European firms without the assurance that subvention payments will continue for the full term of such a contract. As a result, coal producers are now handicapped in their attempts to sell coal in these markets.
One of the most serious drawbacks to the coal industry during the past few years has been the competition of oil as a fuel. Most of such oil comes from Venezuela although some imported crudes come from the United States. I would suggest that a tariff on this type of fuel be considered in order to enable the maritime coal industry to recapture some of the markets lost to oil.
[Mr. Muir (Cape Breton North and Victoria).!

The people who depend on coal for a livelihood feel, and rightly so, that all government supported institutions and buildings should, whenever possible, be heated with coal. I would like to say in passing that it is rather ironic that last year we imported something in the vicinity of 20 million tons of coal while the miners of Nova Scotia and elsewhere were working on a part-time basis. Not only that, we have seen whole communities abandoned because the mines have closed down.
Before leaving this subject may I say there is no doubt that the maritime coal industry could be stabilized and made a prosperous part of our economy if it had the support of all concerned.
May I say that the use of oil in any of the thermal plants that are to be built in the maritimes could not be called support of the coal industry. If there were a shortage of coal, all well and good; oil could then be used. But let us wait until we have that shortage. As I understand it, when the power development program was originally announced its main purpose was to provide low cost electricity and new markets for a sick coal industry. If I remember correctly, it was once stated that it would do much to ensure that coal produced in the maritime provinces would continue to be used and that it would not be replaced by oil brought in from foreign lands.
Now it appears this is not the case, and may I say that I would be remiss in my duties to my constituents if I did not view this situation with alarm and raise my voice in protest at this time. Realizing that this may possibly not be a popular stand, I further realize that this is not a popularity contest, and as long as I am a representative for Cape Breton North and Victoria I shall raise my voice on behalf of my people whenever the need arises, regardless of what government is in power.
And now a word about telephones. I should like to bring the following problem to the attention of the Minister of Transport (Mr. Hees) whose department looks after the government telephone service or at least is supposed to look after it. I am sorry the minister is not in his place now, but I presume he will read what I have said when it is printed in Hansard. In the Washabuck area of Victoria county there are occasions when there is no service for days at a time. Indeed, but for the fact that the people of the area erect very substantial fence posts along the highway, plus the assistance received from trees and stumps, I really do not know what would carry the telephone lines. We have the problem of too many phones

on one circuit, and at the first sign of a heavy dew, a slight wind, or rain or snow, the line is out. We hear some people talking about selling the C.B.C. I should be very happy if they would sell this telephone line, or at least give it away to some company that would maintain it properly. As Washa-buck is a rather isolated area, a telephone is an absolute necessity.
We also have an unsatisfactory situation existing at Little Narrows in Victoria county. For years the subscribers there have had 24-hour service until several months ago. At that time-and I suppose it was all in the spirit of progress-the department increased the subscribers' fees by $9 annually and reduced the service to the following nours: week days from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon, from 1.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m., then from 7.00 to
8.00	p.m. Sundays and holidays, a much more limited service. And this is in an area where we have a gypsum operation employing approximately 200 men. These limited hours of service impose a great hardship on the employees, on the company in carrying out their business, and on the citizens of the area in general. I am quite sure that the people of Little Narrows definitely do not want to go back to the horse and buggy days of telephone service, even if the department has a tendency to operate in that manner. I would urge the minister to have this situation remedied.
The great Alexander Graham Bell lies on top of Beinn Breagh just outside the town of Baddeck, and a few miles from the communities of Washabuck and Little Narrows. I doubt if he would rest very peacefully if he knew what was being done with his great gift to mankind.
Much has been said by a number of hon. members as to the merits of their individual constituencies. Time would not permit me to give even in limited detail some of the beauties and attractions of Cape Breton North and Victoria, but then again the fame of the highlands of Canada has spread far and wide and is quite well known to tourist and traveller alike. I should like to quote an article which appeared in the Halifax Chronicle Herald in this regard and which I feel has been well written. It is entitled "Cape Breton Provides Endless Tourist Interest" and reads as follows:
Cape Breton's historic and old world associations provide an endless interest and variety of entertainment for the cultured and enquiring mind. Cape Breton's scenic beauty has stirred the hearts and tongues of visitors to eloquent expression, has attracted artists from all over America. Cape Breton's natural recreational facilities were a main consideration in the establishment of Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
A French writer of the seventeenth century spent some time in Cape Breton. On his return to
The Address-Mr. J. A. Richard France he wrote: "Cape Breton is a very beautiful land on the coast of Acadia, where there are plains and prairies, valleys and hills and lakes and rivers, vast forests filled with oak, maple, cedar, and the finest fir trees in the world." Writers of today relate that Cape Breton is a part of Nova Scotia possessing dramatic beauty, distinct in character and different in tradition.
Cape Breton is still predominantly highland Scottish in its population. Here can be heard the old Celtic tongue that has sounded the slogan of the Highland clans on every battlefield of the empire; "a speech that fits the Highlander's mouth to a nicety, that becomes him like his kilt and bonnet; a speech adapted to a fine long grace before meals or to a lusty war cry that startles the very eagles in their eyries."
Thank you for listening. I hope to have an opportunity at a later date to take part in further deliberations of this house.
(Translation):


Mr. J. A. Richard (St. Maurice-Lafleche):: Mr. Speaker, it is with a great deal of emotion and with feelings of the deepest national pride that I rise to speak in this house.
May I be allowed, at the outset, to join those members who have spoken before me in offering my sincere congratulations to the mover (Mr. Lafreniere) and the seconder (Mr. Nielsen) of the address in reply to the speech from the throne and to say to you that they have both acquitted themselves well.
The speech from the throne no doubt forecasts a number of highly important subjects for the economic development and the general welfare of this country and I am convinced that all members of this house are most anxious to carry out the heavy responsibilities which are theirs as representatives of their fellow citizens, following in so doing the dictates of their conscience and never losing faith in the common weal and the general interest.
May I send a word of greeting at this point to the people of the whole constituency of St. Maurice-Lafleche, that extensive and fine area which I have the honour and privilege of representing in this house. I thank them most cordially for the confidence they have placed in me.
I also offer my congratulations to you, Mr. Speaker, on your appointment to the post which you occupy with such dignity, as well as to those who have been honoured with important appointments in Her Majesty's new government.
Mr. Speaker, I now come to my subject. I intend acquainting the house with the St. Maurice area and, more particularly, with the constituency of St. Maurice-Lafleche whose representative I am. I will attempt to be as brief as possible, after which I will put for-

The Address-Mr. J. A. Richard ward my suggestions for the industrial, agricultural and tourist development of this fine corner of my province.
In my constituency there are three main industrial centres, situated all three on the St. Maurice river and whose total population is in excess of 80,000. First of all, the population of the city of Shawinigan Falls, my home town, has already exceeded 38,000 inhabitants, not including the suburbs. Shawinigan South, known as the largest town in Canada, with a population of 12,000 people is practically part of the city of Shawinigan Falls. I point out in passing that this town of
12.000	people has no industry. Its people earn their living in the industries of Shawinigan Falls. I glady invite anyone interested to visit Shawinigan Falls. I believe it would be the finest place to establish a small industry. Shawinigan Falls is situated 20 miles from Three Rivers. Though it is only 57 years old, it is the princess city of the St. Maurice valley. Its people hope that before long it will be the queen of the St. Maurice valley though that may not please my colleague the hon. member for Three Rivers (Mr. Balcer).
You will find in our city a peace-loving, hard working people and qualified labour.
Besides the power stations of the Shawinigan Water and Power Company, we have pulp and paper mills, aluminum factories, textile mills and electro-chemical products, manufacturers of great importance such as the Shawinigan Chemicals, the Canadian Resins, the first of those two industries manufacturing carbide, stainless steel, acetylene, etc. and the second manufacturing vinylites and synthetic resins. We also have the Canadian Industries Limited and the DuPont Company of Canada Limited, the Canadian Carborundum, the latter being known throughout the country for the manufacture of grinding wheels and emery cutters. In the textile field, there are two companies, the Wabasso Cotton Company and the Canadian Converters. There are also about 20 other secondary industries which, with those already mentioned, provide jobs for the population.
The town of Grand Mere today is separated from Shawinigan Falls by an imaginary line, as it were, since, due to the expansion of these two sister cities, houses have multiplied everywhere along the road between the two industrial centres.
The population of Grand Mere is over
15.000	and its main industries are paper mills, electricity, textiles and footwear. The town owes its name to a rather unusual phenomenon; with the centuries no doubt, a huge rock representing the head of a grandmother had emerged at the centre of the St. Maurice river. This rock has been carefully brought
[Mr. Richard (St. Maurice-Lafleche).1
down and reconstructed in an ideal location and is now a very precious monument for the town which bears its name; Grand Mere.
Farther north, at a distance of about 60 miles, always on the St. Maurice river, we have the attractive town of La Tuque whose population is also over 15,000 and is dependent for its livelihood on an important paper mill and many other private concerns. Electricity is also produced there.
All around the three cities I just mentioned, there are 27 rural parishes. This means that the farmers of the area have the advantage of markets close by for their products and, in spite of all their difficulties, that is very helpful to them.
May I point out also that the St. Maurice valley, with its broad fields, its fine mountains, its forests where there is plenty of game, its lakes with fish a-plenty, is the admiration and the delight of lovers of the outdoors. The tourist going into this area is struck with wonderment, he extends his stay and invariably comes back. The area offers all facilities for industrial development, which led an important engineer to state at the convention of professional engineers held recently in Shawinigan Falls, that the St. Maurice area has witnessed such an expansion in the last 30 years that it deserves to be called the industrial valley of Canada. Is this not an eloquent testimony to the participation of our region in Canadian industry? Hydro-electric power has always been a great factor in this quick development and is still the prime mover of all our industries. In fact, along a 125 mile run on the St. Maurice river, we find seven power plants of a total capacity of some three million horse-power.
What I just described to you, Mr. Speaker, is the achievements of a hard working and intelligent population. I have tried, Mr. Speaker, to describe the important development of the St. Maurice valley area, which is part of the constituency of St. Maurice-Lafleche which I represent here. It has been a constant development with the exception of the depression period from 1930 to 1936 which, at home, we agree to call the Conservative depression era, which is now repeating itself. I should like, Mr. Speaker, to talk about the situation in my constituency. From August of last year, our industries started laying off employees and slowing down their production and, since then, that unfortunate laying off process has gone on increasingly, to such an extent that in the area covered by the unemployment insurance office in Shawinigan Falls we have over 7,000 unemployed who are drawing regular or

supplementary unemployment benefits. However, there is also another category of unemployed but, apparently, we can hardly determine their number. They are those who have exhausted their benefits. Several of them came to my office and are looking for a job.
I am informed that in the unemployment insurance office the applications of that category of unemployed are filed for only two weeks and it is often those people who are the most dependent upon such benefits, since they have no other help coming to them. Therefore, I would suggest to the minister concerned to consider the possibility of including that category of unemployed with those eligible for supplementary benefits.
That is not all. The town of La Tuque which is part of my constituency and is served by its own unemployment insurance office, has at least the same proportion of unemployed as Shawinigan Falls. I heard a moment ago that the paper mill of La Tuque must further reduce its production, a situation which cannot fail increasing the already alarming number of unemployed.
Mr. Speaker, I wonder what is the cause of that situation; there is still the same number of people to feed and to clothe, and as many families to provide for. Could it not be that the numerous immoderate promises of the Progressive Conservatives in the last election have created some uncertainty and uneasiness among our industrialists? According to our opponents, everything was to change for the better.
I remember hearing my opponent during the election of 1957, at Three Rivers, at a great Conservative rally, criticize the Liberal government for its surplus of over $500 million in the fiscal year 1956-57. And he said: "Elect us, ladies and gentlemen, and we promise to cut the expenses of the present Liberal administration by at least $700 million; added to a surplus of $500 million, this will mean that a sum of $1,200 million will be returned to you by means of tax reductions". Well, Mr. Speaker, what happened? The surplus of $500 million has melted or has been distributed; there have been no savings and we are awaiting the introduction of a budget involving a probable deficit of $600 to $700 million, according to the press. There is the result of those promises.
I must also mention, Mr. Speaker, the irresponsible statements of the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) about the diversion of part 57071-3-35
The Address-Mr. J. A. Richard of our trade from the United States to the United Kingdom. I have no objection to an increase of our trade with England; that is all very well but I believe that we must keep the markets we already hold while trying to find others. These were unfortunate statements whose effects cannot easily be assessed.
Now, Mr. Speaker, 1 shall try to make a few suggestions which might help the economic recovery of our country and provide work for the unemployed.
The speech from the throne mentions large amounts of public works, well over 1,180 million. Now, I know from experience that such projects are not the answer to our present urgent needs. They require a great deal of preparatory work which takes a long time.
We have, at home, and in many other places, problems that are quite difficult to solve and, when quoting the following instance, I shall point out the sore spot in many of our municipalities. The central government has created a body called the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation for the purpose of stimulating the building of homes, which had become a national need. To my mind, this body has filled the need. It has been a success and has rendered considerable service to our people. But, while fulfilling its function, this organization has created difficulties for the municipalities involved, since the latter have to provide municipal services to these communities. Several single family units cover as much ground on a street as one multiple dwelling unit but, from the assessment point of view, brings in far smaller returns. The municipality has to provide every service such as sewers, waterworks, street paving, sidewalks and lighting, plus supervision and maintenance. This is far too heavy a task because of the relatively light population of these extensive areas. This is the case in my constituency. Would it not be possible to create some kind of institution under the C.M.H.C., which would be authorized to enter into agreements with the provinces and municipalities involved and to lend them money at reduced interest rates in cases of need? This would allow going ahead with all urgent works and would provide employment to large numbers of workers on the spot. I would ask the minister concerned to take under serious consideration this suggestion which I believe to be progressive.
As regards my constituency more particularly, I would ask the Minister of Public

The Address-Mr. J. A. Richard Works (Mr. Green), if possible, to speed up the construction of the federal building in Shawinigan Falls. If I am not mistaken, tenders are to be called in the course of next month and right after that the contract is to be awarded. Post office employees have been working in substandard conditions for a long time already; this project has already been fully considered and is ready to be carried out.
Moreover, there is an urgent need for a federal building in Grand Mere. I would ask the minister to consider this request and to act upon it with the least possible delay.
In La Tuque, there is a special case. The municipality, wishing to extend its main street sewer system along the existing landing field, would require a grant-in-aid in proportion with the amount of tax revenue it would have drawn from buildings that would normally have been erected on that side of the street now occupied by this landing field. A request to that effect has already been filed and I wish to repeat it here.
Allow me, Mr. Speaker, to turn now to the Minister of Transport (Mr. Hees). The Canadian National station at Grand Mere is in a deplorable condition and I know that a plan is under way to restore it; I had been promised, as it were, that it would be done before 1958. I dare hope the minister will heed that request and that this plan which would contribute to reduce unemployment there will be implemented.
I agree entirely with my leader (Mr. Pearson) when he says that the only way to deal with the present situation is to leave as much money as possible in circulation; I add that it would be a good thing to give back more money to our population by increasing family allowances and extending them up to the age of 18 for students. I would also ask the hon. Minister of National Revenue (Mr. Nowlan) to amend the personal income tax act by increasing the basic exemption to $3,000 for heads of families and to $1,500 for single people.
This is surely one of the best ways to put money back into people's hands, and assure its maximum circulation.
I feel I have fulfilled my obligations towards the citizens I have been representing for several years already.
The suggestions I made prove that, while serving the citizens of my constituency to the

best of my ability, I also want to co-operate in the efficient discharge of the duties of this house.
Before resuming my seat, I want to congratulate my leader for his effort during the last election campaign, which was carried out under the most difficult circumstances, and I want to assure him that he can count at all times on my most loyal support.


Mr. Vincent Brassard (Chicoutimi):: Mr. Speaker, it seems to be the custom to say a few words of praise about the Speaker of the house. I therefore very willingly associate myself with all previous speakers in offering you my most sincere congratulations on your re-election to this post. If I do so, it is not because it is customary, but because the last few days I have spent here have given me the opportunity to appreciate, at their real worth, your eminent qualities of impartiality and your noble dignity. I have also noted your unlimited patience and kindness towards the new members who are not very familiar with the very complex procedure of the house. Therefore, please accept my regards, Mr. Speaker, and be assured of my entire co-operation.
I should not want to forget the Deputy Speaker of the house (Mr. Sevigny) who bears a predestined name. I congratulate him on his nomination which, I may say, pleased the whole province of Quebec.
As for the vice-chairman of committees, I beg him to accept my regards, on behalf of the whole population of my constituency.
I have nothing but admiration for the mover (Mr. Lafreniere) and seconder (Mr. Nielsen) of the address in reply to the speech from the throne. Coming, so to say, from the two opposite ends of the country, they both struck a note that bodes well for national unity.
I welcomed, as did all my fellow members and the whole province of Quebec, the appointment of the Minister of Defence Production (Mr. O'Hurley) and of the Secretary of State (Mr. Courtemanche). At the opening of parliament, Mr. Speaker, this was the best gift the right hon. Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) could make to the province of Quebec. I feel it my duty to thank him and also to congratulate the incumbents of these very important posts within the cabinet.
I have the honour to represent, Mr. Speaker, whatever my fellow representatives

may say, the most beautiful riding in the whole of Canada.
We who live under Her Gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, can take pride in the fact that we are probably the only true royalists in Canada since, for as long as anybody can remember, we have been calling our area the kingdom of the Saguenay. It is in truth a very prolific kingdom since in the space of a few decades the original constituency of Chicoutimi-Sague-nay has given birth to four new constituencies.
While I make no claim to be a historian, Mr. Speaker, I would like to be allowed to say a few words about the history of that part of our country in order to call attention to the merits of our fathers and to explain the state of mind of our people.
At the beginning of the 19th century the whole area known-or rather unknown-as the kingdom of the Saguenay was the exclusive preserve of the Hudson's Bay Company which carried on the fur trade there and allowed no one to enter save its own clerks and a few missionaries. Around the middle of the 19th century the parishes of Charlevoix, perched high in the austere mountains of the north shore of the St. Lawrence, found their population grown to excessive numbers. At this time the rush towards the large urban centres of Montreal and Quebec had not yet started, nor had migration to the United States, with the consequent loss represented by those migrations. The problem was therefore to find a place to establish our surplus population. Even before the 1958 throne speech, which forecasts so brilliant a future for northern areas, our forefathers betook themselves to the north. They boldly made their way into our mysterious forests. They went up the dark and stormy waters of the Saguenay. A company was formed to carry on lumber trade and settlement, known as the "21" Company. Small sawmills were established at Ha! Ha! Bay and at Chicoutimi, with little villages around. The Hudson's Bay Company attempted to squash this attempt at colonization. In a legal sense, our forebears were all squatters. Though their establishment was illegal, they took no notice of judicial proceedings instituted against them in the Quebec courts. Finding itself unable to have the court orders executed, the Hudson's Bay Company decided to use force and to send in its henchmen to dislodge the settlers. The use of force calls for retaliation by force. It was a cold war 57071-3-35J
The Address-Mr. V. Brassard but a war none the less. There was no bloodshed, but no punches were pulled. For the sake of peace, the Hudson's Bay Company gave up before the daring and tenacity of the first settlers. About the beginning of this century, the sawmills first set up began to expand into pulp and paper mills.
Then came the electrification era with the construction of numerous and powerful hydro stations, such as the lie Maligne station built in 1926 and developing 540,000 h.p. and the Chute-a-Caron station, built in 1931 and developing 300,000 h.p. Owing to the war, the Shipshaw power station was put into service in 1943 with a capacity of 1,200,000 h.p. After the war, two new stations were built on the Peribonka river, which is a tributary of lake Saint John, both stations having a capacity of 270,000 h.p. and built respectively on the spots called La Savane and La chute au Diable. Finally there is under construction at the present time and soon to be in service, the Chute-des-passes power station, the capacity of which will be one million horsepower. This gives an impressive total of 3,580,000 h.p. for the whole Saguenay area. It is therefore not surprising that we have the greatest aluminum reduction mills in the world and that we still have some power left over for sale to any industry wanting to take advantage of an intelligent manpower and of unlimited resources in electrical power.
In parallel with all those industrial developments, our industry and business, as well as our social institutions, were expanding considerably. This particular geographic situation of an area practically isolated from the rest of the province, as well as the particular circumstances in which colonization was carried out, has stamped a particular trait upon our people. Difficulties of all kinds awaited the first settlers who had come in this distant area with no other means of communication than the Saguenay river which is closed to navigation in winter, and they automatically eliminated the weak and the timorous. Moreover, hostility on the part of the Hudson's Bay Company forced settlers to rely on force to stay put. It is therefore not surprising to find today an aggressive spirit which, if it no longer leads to pitched battles, is nevertheless characteristic of our population in the different spheres of human activity. This aggressive spirit is in no way incompatible with our kind disposition since, on March 31st last, we elected three members

The Address-Mr. V. Brassard out of four on the side of the government, in spite of the fact that the constituency of Chicoutimi had never elected a Conservative member since it was parcelled out around 1911, several years before I was born. Let us merely say that the Liberals again broke up the constituency of Chicoutimi in 1949 to create the constituency of Lapointe, no doubt to allow my namesake a comfortable seat in the opposition.
As history cannot be undone, Mr. Speaker, let us say that we are connected with the rest of Canada by the incomparable Saguenay river, open to the ocean-going vessels up to my city of Chicoutimi. I would like to describe to you with eloquence and poetry that magnificent river, but this is not the place for lyricism. That river, deeply embanked as a fiord, is spotted with wharves most of which were built under former Conservative governments and were barely maintained and repaired during the 22 years of the former administration.
That is why, Mr. Speaker, the speech from the throne has no doubt rejoiced all the people of our constituency since the announced public works will soon bring up to date the port facilities of all our villages and especially those of the city of Chicoutimi. In 1888, Mr. Speaker, the first locomotive appeared in the village of Chambord, which is today part of the constituency of Roberval. In 1893, the same railroad was extended to Chicoutimi but, going into bankruptcy a little later, it was taken over by the Canadian National.
For all practical purposes, that railroad has remained as it was at the end of the last century, though for some years it has since become the most profitable section of the national railways due to the existence in our area of the great industry of aluminum and of many newsprint plants whose shipping is the most profitable. All this shows that our railway, serving four counties and a population of a quarter of a million people-that is the equivalent of one of our small provinces'- has long become less than adequate. It will be fully inadequate when the link from St. Felicien to Chibougamau is put into operation next year.
We must deplore, at this time, Mr. Speaker, the former administration's long delay in authorizing the building of the Chibougamau-St. Felicien branch line. Because of that delay the city of Chicoutimi lost the opportunity of completing the construction of a refining plant. The difficulty facing the sponsors was that they could not count on
[Mr. Brassard (Chicoutimi) .1
the building of the railway, so that the plant was not guaranteed supplies, and they therefore were unable to raise the funds to finance that project. When finally construction started on the branch line, there was a drop on metal stocks with the disastrous consequence that our refining plant has remained uncompleted.
Coming back to the railway, Mr. Speaker, it is a touching sight to see a modern diesel locomotive, capable of high speed, lumber along over tracks of 1888 vintage at a top speed of 40 miles an hour. It is like driving a Cadillac over a bush trail. I am sure, Mr. Speaker, that if the Minister of Transport (Mr. Hees) would kindly accept my invitation to spend a week end in Chicoutimi and to pass two whole nights in the train to cover a 300-mile stretch, he would be so shaken up that he would earmark most of his budget for the repair of that important line of our national railway network.
Another noteworthy feature in the speech from the throne is the government's interest in northern "development." His Excellency referred to a railroad going up to the Great Slave lake, and I heartily approve the project. However, northern Quebec is also part of the development program in the north and I feel that it would be quite possible to establish in my district-in view of the combined effect of our huge hydro-electric resources and our abundant labour force, together with inexhaustible resources-an industrial centre comparable to the famous Ruhr valley, since the Saguenay is also an unrivalled seaway. That, of course, provided we are linked by a railway to Seven Islands, which is at present the loading point of raw ore bound for American refineries. It is in fact imperative that our natural resources should first of all profit Canadians themselves and that Canada should put a stop to the export of non-refined ore.
Without this railway link with Chicoutimi, the port of Seven Islands is but a point through which Canada is being bled out of its wealth in favour of the Americans. With a railway, it would become a source of bountiful wealth for all of Canada. Before concluding, Mr. Speaker, may I be allowed to stress an angle of the economic war which is waged against us by the iron curtain countries and, as a result of which the Arvida aluminum plant has considerably reduced its operations. The U.S.S.R. now offers on the world market aluminum at a much lower price than is asked for Canadian aluminum, in spite of our recent price cut.

May I quote here from a speech made during one of the corporation's annual meetings by the president of the Aluminum Company.
Another noteworthy development which happened last year and should be mentioned is the appearance of competition on the part of soviet block countries, and mainly of Russia. Russian competition brought on certain marked disturbances and deprived our company of several customers. Some people naturally thought that our decision with regard to prices was aimed at meeting this competition. This conclusion does not take into account the basic difference between our two systems with regard to the part played by the state and also by industry and overlooks the fact that the Russian producer, owing to the very nature of the system in which he operates, will not consider the production cost of aluminum as a determining factor when he competes with other countries on the international market. In several cases, Russian metal sales agencies have offered to keep their price beneath any quotation we might make.
One might wonder if the government should not resort to diplomatic and economic action to protect our market in the United Kingdom, amongst others, against any dumping of light metals manufactured in Russia. The least we can say, in any case, is that dumping is a major cause of unemployment in our area, and if it is to continue, the whole district will soon be classed as an emergency zone.
Mr. Speaker, may I be allowed to suggest that the National Housing Act be amended so as to make it possible for a large number of low wage earners and workers of my constituency to benefit from its provisions? Under the present legislation it is necessary to obtain the services of our contractor to have a house built, which of course increases the cost and puts it out of the reach of these small wage earners. Thanks to the forty and even thirty-six hour week our workers have plenty of spare time and are far from lacking in skill. If the government instituted a system of supervision of the work, a large number of workers could build their own houses, make a considerable saving and lower their monthly payments to a very considerable degree.
The father of a family of seven or eight children who earns only $3,300 or $3,500 annually is quite incapable of making monthly payments of $80. Amendments to this act would be of immense benefit to the workers of this country and I will respectfully submit to the Minister of Public Works (Mr. Green) that he should study this aspect of the matter most closely.
In my constituency, Mr. Speaker, there are a number of small rural municipalities which,
The Address-Mr. V. Brassard by reason of their situation, are unable to benefit from federal public works. These small municipalities are for the most part unprovided with waterworks and sewer systems and their finances are too small to allow them to undertake work of this description. I therefore express a most ardent wish for an understanding to be arrived at at the earliest possible moment whereby the federal government would be allowed to subsidize these little municipalities so that they could attain a reasonable standard of living by carrying out public works which would have a double advantage, in so far as they would improve sanitary standards while reducing unemployment. I believe, Mr. Speaker, that this contribution would be at least as useful as our contribution to the Colombo plan.
I would not want to close my remarks without paying the people of my constituency the tribute they well deserve and thanking them for the confidence they put in your humble servant. If I am not mistaken, we have one of the highest birth-rates of the whole country, so much so that more than 20 per cent of our whole population is of primary school age. They are therefore courageous people who do not rely on immigration to populate the country and I am convinced that native Canadians make excellent citizens. That is why the federal government should study the problem and make proportionately as much money available to the people who multiply naturally as it makes available to those who have to be increased by the help of immigration.
One good way of recognizing the merits of this population would be to re-adjust the family allowance rates in accordance with the increase in the cost of living. I have not yet given up hope of seeing the Minister of Finance (Mr. Fleming), whose talents are inexhaustible, find it possible to provide for a substantial increase in family allowances when he makes his budget speech.
The city of Chicoutimi is in great need of public works to fight unemployment, of course, but also to supply the needs of the ever-increasing population of this metropolitan centre, which is also the shipping and railway terminal of the area. I am sure the government will fulfil in this field the promises made while it was in opposition and that our harbour facilities will be modernized within the framework of a vast plan involving, among other things, the relocation of the railway terminal and the disappearance of 13 level crossings.

The Address-Mr. Loiselle
I still have much to say on behalf of my constituency. However, I will have the opportunity of making further remarks in other debates.
(Text):
Before resuming my seat, Mr. Speaker, I should like to state that I have been in public life for many years. As president of the school board of my hometown, I always served my constituents to the best of my ability. I wish to assure you, Mr. Speaker, that in this house I will devote the best years of my life to the service of Canada as a whole, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
(Translation):


Mr. Gerard Loiselle (Si. Ann):: I would feel remiss, Mr. Speaker, if I did not congratulate you, at the very beginning of my remarks, for your election as Speaker of the House of Commons. All those who sat here at the last session are aware of the tact and ability with which you presided over the debates of this house and I am sure that you will continue to discharge your responsibilities with that same dignity.
I must also sincerely congratulate the mover and seconder of the address in reply to the speech from the throne (Messrs. Lafreniere and Nielsen). They are all the more deserving of our congratulations since that honour has been bestowed upon them on their first appearance in this house, an ambition which unfortunately cannot be fulfilled by every young member. Once more, Mr. Speaker and hon. members for Quebec-Montmorency and Yukon, I offer you my most sincere congratulations on the way in which you have discharged your duty.
I wish also to offer my warmest congratulations to the hon. member for Labelle (Mr. Courtemanche) and for Lotbiniere (Mr. O'Hurley) who were appointed ministers of the crown at the opening of the session, as well as to the hon. member for Longueuil (Mr. Sevigny) and to the hon. member for Spadina (Mr. Rea), who are assuming the functions of Deputy Speaker and deputy chairman of committee of the whole. As to all those who hoped and are still looking for an appointment, I advise them to be patient and not to forget that many are called but few are chosen.
Mr. Speaker, in accordance with the good example you gave us after your election as well as the good example from the Minister of Justice (Mr. Fulton) and the Minister of Transport (Mr. Hees) who, last week, answered

questions in the beautiful French language, allow me to continue my remarks in my mother tongue.
I am proud to be a member of this 24th parliament after obtaining again, for the second consecutive time the confidence of the electors of the constituency of St. Ann.
I had the honour to take part in the last parliament which was so short-lived that many new members and myself could not gather as much experience as we wanted to in the operation of a governmental administration such as ours.
The St. Ann constituency which I have the honour of representing has very special features which are seldom found elsewhere.
It is composed mostly of workers together with an elite of professionals, businessmen and industrialists. It has people of all racial origins who live together in an exemplary brotherhood. The aspect of the riding is also very typical. It is irregular, criss-crossed by railway lines which lead to all parts of the country and to the United States, and is crossed by the Lachine canal. It is limited by the St. Lawrence river for more than half of its length. If it is of difficult access, it has on the other hand one of the most hospitable and picturesque populations. I pledge to serve each of my electors with the same devotion, whatever his origin. It is human value that I see in each of them, and it is with that ideal that I will consider their needs and serve their interests.
Mr. Speaker, everyone is aware that the city of Montreal is located at the head of a seaway which makes it one of the busiest and at the same time one of the most accessible ports. It is closer to the European countries than the Atlantic ports of Canada as well as the United States. We therefore believe that it must be given special consideration by our government.
The St. Lawrence seaway will divert to the south shore part of the traffic of Montreal harbour. As the situation will not be ?>
favourable there at the beginning, no effort should be spared to develop our port facilities since, after all, they will have to be used.
Since our port comes under federal jurisdiction, it has lost its autonomy and has often been treated as a poor relation. Certain rivalries, either in the department or in the neighbouring cities, are prejudicial to Montreal. The moment has come to make up for time lost and to spend without delay the sums necessary to preserve its supremacy. The port of Montreal will always be our most important port on account of it geographical location.

Saint John and Halifax will continue to be open to ocean-going vessels during the winter, while Montreal will remain the true Canadian port dominating the whole of our economy. The seaway will divert only the secondary trade to the great lakes and the inland ports. That is why, Mr. Speaker, I consider this question to be of foremost importance. Who will contend that the Montreal harbour facilities do not benefit the whole country? To deny it, one must have no knowledge whatever of geography. Montreal is and will remain the centre of our country and will continue to be of vital importance to other cities which will owe it indirectly their growth.
We must at all cost preserve the supremacy of the port of Montreal, our city's main industry. Montreal must benefit as much as possible from the seaway.
I know that a development program of $57 million is underway but I am wondering whether that sum of $57 million will be enough to give Montreal harbour the place we would like to see it occupy. Will this sum of $57 million be sufficient for the construction and extension of wharves, for the construction of grain elevators and sheds, for dredging the channel and for the various other necessary improvements?
The workers, the businessmen and the industrialists of Montreal need the port; the federal government must give a special attention to the harbour of Montreal and must institute, if need be, a Montreal harbour commission in view of the foremost importance of that port for the economy of the metropolitan area.
Another project which is of interest to the citizens of the constituency of St. Ann is the construction and the approaches of the bridge of St. Paul island, also called Nuns' island.
The construction of that bridge is another great achievement of the former Liberal government. Now that the work is underway, the present government must see that it is completed; to that end, the Minister of Transport (Mr. Hees) should concern himself immediately, before it is too late, with the approaches of that bridge on the island of Montreal. If the bridge were completed tomorrow, do you know where traffic would go? According to the information I have gathered, the traffic from the bridge is led directly to the southern entrance of the Atwater street tunnel. It is easy to see how silly that is. The Atwater tunnel has been constructed to replace the former Atwater street bridge and not to take care of the traffic through that new bridge.
The Address-Mr. Loiselle
It is therefore advisable for the government to carry out expensive land expropriation and to construct all access roads at its own expense. The original design provided for an access road which extended only as far as the southern entrance to the Atwater tunnel, as I said a moment ago. The double lateral lanes in this tunnel cannot adequately handle that traffic. No sooner would we have left that pit than we would have to jump over the railway tracks between St. Jacques street and Notre Dame street and pour traffic into a district which is already ill provided with wide through roads. It would be advisable also to think of extending the exit road as far as Dorchester boulevard, from where traffic could be easily channelled into every direction. If need be, secondary grades could be built towards those parts of the city which are generally called Pointe-Saint-Charles and Saint-Henri.
If this is not done, Mr. Speaker, this bridge will not answer the needs of the people in the way which is expected. If I have put forward this suggestion concerning the traffic which this bridge will bring into Montreal, it is because that is a highly important matter. If I have to put a resolution before the house in this connection, I will make it my duty to do so.
Mr. Speaker, since I am talking at this time of the new bridge at present under construction, I must point out that last week the Minister of Transport received a request from the provincial member for the constituency of St. Ann, the same constituency I represent in this house, with regard to the blessing of the bridge. I have not always shared the same views as the provincial member for my constituency. On more than one occasion we have been at loggerheads in our political opinions, but this time, for once, I must admit that this seems to be a sensible suggestion.
Last week end I had the pleasure of visiting the religious sisters of the Congregation de Notre-Dame, since there is some talk of naming that bridge Marguerite Bourgeois bridge. I therefore got in touch with the proper parties so as to obtain certain information in support of the suggestions I have to offer with regard to the name to be given to the new bridge. If you do not mind, Mr. Speaker, I will give certain historical notes concerning St. Paul island or Nuns' island as it is called by some people, and over which this new bridge is to be constructed.
The island of St. Paul enters history even before the discovery of Montreal. In fact, before 1664, the whole island belonged to one


Mr. Johnson:: It is an unpleasant remark. I ask the hon. member whether he wants his constituency called the province of St. Ann?


Gérard Loiselle: No, because in such a case the riding of St. Ann would be in the province of Montreal.
If Montreal had the taxation powers granted the provinces, all the large scale works considered by its administration would not only be under way, but completed and it would be possible to look into the future, whereas it is just the contrary. Having to wait for the support of the higher levels of government, that of Quebec as well as of Ottawa, the works remain at the planning stage, and the plans on the shelves.
I know that there is talk of another national conference to be held for the purpose of determining a better distribution of sources of income. I hope advantage will be taken of this opportunity to think of municipalities, which, shackled by the smallness of their budget and the hard time they have raising taxes, are languishing or putting off urgent developments which will then cost twice as much as they would today. Administration implies foresight. Administration also means the ability to act promptly for the common good and also for the good of the individuals.
If, for reasons I do not wish to discuss here, federal-provincial relations fail as usual, the government, under the Prime Minister, will always be able to pay us, in the form of taxes on federal buildings in our cities, amounts in proportion to the services rendered and to the sacrifices we made in the past without any gratitude in return. The problem of municipalities is urgent and it is most important to find a solution which will not be a makeshift.
The federal government collects in Montreal a considerable part of its revenue. Why then would it not pay us back by giving us an exemption from the federal sales tax on all municipal purchases? This compensation would not be so high as to unbalance the budget. However, the city of Montreal would make a surprising use of this money.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to suggest to the government full consideration of the immediate needs of this municipality, needs which are much more urgent than those of some provinces. If Montreal was called the province of Montreal, I am sure that we would not have to beg of federal ministers to obtain for Montreal its rightful share.
And before closing these few remarks, I would like to make another request to the Minister of Transport. As I said a minute ago, there are several level crossings in my constituency-everyone remembers the old Bonaventure station-and there are still between Notre-Dame street and St. James street railway lines which are very ugly in a city like Montreal.
It so happens that the C.N.R. is still using steam locomotives, and this should not be allowed in the metropolis of Canada. I expressly ask the Minister of Transport today to see to it that steam locomotives are ruled out of the city of Montreal. I have already made this request to Mr. Gordon, the president of the Canadian National Railways and, in a fine letter replying to my request, he informed me that the necessary improvements would be looked after and that in the near future the steam locomotives would be taken out of service. However, I am beginning to think that those improvements are too slow in coming about and that these locomotives will not disappear for a long time yet. I insist upon those steam locomotives being replaced by diesel locomotives.
(Text):


Mr. Percy Vivian (Durham):: Mr. Speaker, in rising to take part in this debate I am conscious of my newness in this house. I am also very much aware of the number of speeches which have preceded my having this opportunity to speak. I am also full of awareness of the particular character of the riding which I have the honour to represent, the county of Durham in the province of Ontario.
Durham is not only an historic riding it is frequently a pivotal riding. Its first member was the Hon. Edward Blake in 1867 who, at the same time as he represented Durham in this house, as the representative of South Bruce was the leader of the Liberal opposition in the legislative assembly of Ontario. In 1871 he formed a government in that province. Down through the years, the riding has expressed its views in no uncertain terms in election after election on the way in which it felt and that feeling has in the main been a national feeling rather than one concerned only with local issues.
This, I think, has been shown by the fact that in 1917 the Hon. Newton Wesley Rowell, a Liberal by former conviction, a member of the unionist government of Sir Robert Borden and a minister therein, was then elected by the greatest majority Durham has ever given to anybody in an election at any time. In the 1925-26-shall I say political difficulties-a Conservative, a farmer by profession, defeated an outstanding exponent of the Liberal party who was extremely tough

The Address-Mr. Vivian opposition and held the riding through the 1926 election. And so it is with a feeling of considerable responsibility that I rise to present to this house the views of the people I have the honour to represent.
It is not difficult to represent this riding because their views are made so clearly known. This was well shown, I think, in the last election on March 31 when their representative in this house was returned with what was for Durham a tremendous majority. One can only interpret from this that the people of Durham felt that a Diefenbaker government was the only government capable of guiding this country through the next four years and with that they expressed their approval of the accomplishments achieved by the government following June 10 in bringing so many of the election promises into fruition in spite of having only a minority of members in this house. They accept this government as proved on its past record and in faith for its future and in this I know they will not be disappointed in view of the words contained in the speech from the throne.
The throne speech is long but it is also packed with a great many things that appear to be in the best immediate interests of the people of Canada. For a little while I would like to comment on a few of the words contained therein which I think are of particular interest to the people in the county of Durham.
We welcome the words of the throne speech that have to do with the revival of interest on the part of the Canadian government in affairs of the commonwealth and of mutual interest in the existing commonwealth and its expansion through the addition of new countries. The riding of Durham has had many settlers, early from among United Empire Loyalists, others from the United Kingdom and Ireland, and more recently from newer nations and the countries of Europe who have blended themselves into a whole unit as a thinking component of this part of the province of Ontario. They look upon the commonwealth as an instrument of good and they hope it will be nurtured. They believe that the progressive development or evolution of a commonwealth of nations can lead to a greater understanding-and therefore world peace and happiness-than can the activities of an artificial hierarchy of nations of different interests who seem to spend too much of their time seeking their own national advantage. Not only do they welcome the interest of this government in the maintenance and extension of the commonwealth but they also welcome the words

in the throne speech concerning the holding of a commonwealth trade conference in Montreal this September.
I am equally sure they welcome the words in the throne speech which tell of the forthcoming visit to Canada of the President of the United States this summer. There has been a great deal of concern in the riding about relationships with our great and good neighbour to the south. If 1 interpret their views correctly-and they are my own-there is a feeling that much of what seems to have been wrong in our relationships stems from our own inability to put many things right. The people of my riding also feel that perhaps our neighbour to the south has not yet realized that the country to its north which was once a child among nations is now reaching maturity and nationhood with a mind and will of its own and therefore the delicacy of our relationships with our neighbour, which is our close family member, has been of some concern.
One of the most serious mistakes we could make in our relationship with the United States, or they with us, is for either to believe that because we speak a similar language and come from a somewhat similar background that we are the same people. In my opinion we are not. However, we are members of a large family and the relationship between us should be that which exists between the members of any large family, one of mutual respect, devotion and care for the well-being of each other. Surely this is the foundation upon which our continuing friendship should be built and a means by which minor irritations can be avoided.
There are other matters which are perhaps more mundane and prosaic but which nevertheless are of considerable importance to the people in my riding in the matter of making a living. These concerns are very little different in Durham than they are any place else in Canada and indeed many of our problems are similar to those of the rest of Canada. Basically Durham is a rural-small-urban riding and agriculture is still its most stable industry with a variety of types of manufacturing as an adjunct to this. We have beef cattle, dairy herds, canning crops, apples, tobacco and even some potatoes. Mixed farming is of particular interest in the older part of Ontario and it has engaged the attention and toil of so many of our farm families. The people in this area are not connected with the production of wheat or fish, as is the case in other parts of Canada, but their problems are related to the agricultural endeavour which depends on close markets and is in competition with many similar products which enter Canada from the south.

The matter of canning crops such as tomatoes, corn, peas and asparagus are of particular importance and therefore we welcomed what was accomplished by the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Harkness) last session, and what is again referred to in the speech from the throne, the intention on the part of the government that agriculture shall have a fair share of the national income. We received with joy the announcement of the intention to pay a deficiency payment for asparagus and we hope something similar will be done with respect to tomatoes. We have observed the growth of marketing boards and these are welcome because they have accomplished a great deal particularly with respect to the tobacco crop.
A deficiency payment on asparagus is of little value unless the canning company is prepared to pack the product. We have had an unfortunate experience in my riding. A number of canning plants formerly owned by Canadian Canners Limited are lessening their activities and in some instances are closing down since the purchase of this company by a large United States firm. This we deplore. We also hope this will be the subject of concern to our Department of Agriculture, as it is to our farmers, and that steps may be taken to find new outlets for these cash crops upon which so many of our farmers depend.
There is one other matter which is of importance to us in agricultural pursuits, if even the small number of farm families remaining on our farms is to be retained, and I submit to you, sir, that retention of farm families is of considerable importance to us sociologically. They must be more secure in their ability to earn a living in those agricultural pursuits. A large farm family has always provided a great source of new blood to the development of the country in other ways, in the various cities, as we know', and the ability, the integrity and the adjustability of those raised on farms and in agriculture have added so much to the development of this country, and have given so much to the professions and to industry that we hope some way will be found so that there will be no further depletion of this source of our strength nationally, for if this depletion continues it will be to the detriment of the whole nation.
In manufacturing we have a very interesting situation. Not only are we processing uranium products, but we have the only file plant in Canada. The riding contains plants for the manufacture of rubber goods in relation to the automobile trade and conveyor systems and many other things as well. But these forward looking companies, many of them employing modest numbers of employees, 57071-3-36J
The Address-Mr. Vivian have gone ahead with the modernization of their plants, and by the working conditions and the character of the skilled labour which they are able to attract within the riding are ready for a great expansion in their production as soon as the market for greater productivity is available. Therefore, we did welcome the words of the speech from the throne that every effort is to be made for the expansion of trade. In this we would like to compliment the Minister of Trade and Commerce (Mr. Churchill) on all that he has done to date and on what we hope he will continue to do in the future.
The county of Durham is also very much interested in matters of health and welfare. My people welcomed the increase in payments in the old age security program and pensions and allowances for the blind and for veterans. They also know they have to pay for them, as the rest of Canada has to do. Therefore, while they consider this to be a great help they would like to see a more adequate arrangement made whereby the amounts could be greater and on a different system, on a pay-as-you-go basis. Therefore, we look forward to the report which this house expects on a new system or plan or program of social security in Canada. They are also very conscious of the value of the new hospital insurance plan, and we note that the speech from the throne refers to an amendment now introduced in this house which will make it possible for participating hospitals of provinces having hospital plans to receive payments after June.
As a physician I welcome this hospital insurance plan wholeheartedly. The present cost of hospital care, more than ever a needed medical facility within the community, has increased so much by reason of increases, in wages, services and materials that it is beyond the paying capacity of the individual when sick; and even when that individual has much in the way of insurance coverage, long-term illnesses, plus the need for ancillary services within a hospital that are beyond the insurance coverage, are sufficiently serious to reduce the economic status of a person or a family. This, to my way of thinking, is not only welcome but is long overdue.
In this I have a very personal interest because it was in the autumn of 1943 when I was enabled, as a member of the then government of the province of Ontario, to state that that government would underwrite the cost of public ward care either by a hospital insurance plan or out of the consolidated revenue. The then dominion-provincial relations were such that this was not possible. What was done was in very large

The Address-Mr. Vivian measure to meet that commitment by increased grants from provincial and municipal treasuries. Therefore, it is with a great deal of satisfaction that I see this plan coming into operation, and for the work which has been done by him I wish to compliment most sincerely the former minister of national health and welfare, the hon. member for Essex East (Mr. Martin). I compliment him on the part that he has played in the longterm struggle to bring into Canada a program of this sort. Although he was not in a position to see it in actual operation, I know he will join with me in wishing the present Minister of National Health and Welfare (Mr. Monteith) every good wish for the success of this plan, because, it is not going to be easy. There are going to be a great many headaches in bringing this plan into actual operation.
While we at this level contribute money and have some guidance in the way in which it is spent in the various provinces in which this plan will be in force, much of this authority will rest with the local hospitals, commissions or boards or by whatever name the administration is set up. Some of the headaches will rest in the fact that the public, having paid a premium or a tax, will think that they, and perhaps only they, are entitled to any services at any time that they so desire. This cannot be. Admission to hospitals will still remain at the request of the physician in question and will still be granted only when there is sufficient room in the hospital in which to receive those patients. Therefore, one of the many problems will be the distribution of the number of beds and all the ancillary things that go to make up the hospital facilities of any area that has a provincial plan and with that the balancing of the number of acute public general hospital beds with the number of beds for the long stay or convalescent patient, or the more unfortunately chronically ill or the incurable type of case.
This will not be easy because the mind of the public is so set upon acute illnesses that we tend to forget the problems of the longer stay patient. We tend to overlook those problems in rehabilitation, which means so much, and can shorten so many cases of illness. We focus our attention on the more dramatic, which is the acute problem, and therefore we tend to lay more emphasis on this factor than we perhaps might otherwise do.
Another problem which is likely to arise, and which is already in force I am sorry to say, is the overcrowding of many hospitals and shortages of staff. The problem of training adequate personnel in housekeeping-I refer to medical housekeeping-is difficult.

In a recent issue of the journal of the American Medical Association the problem of inhospital infection with a staphylococcus organism is given a prominent place. During this last week it has been the subject of discussion at the public health conference in Vancouver. It is one of the problems of the type which arise in hospital housekeeping, of which the public is not generally aware. I mention it as an example of the type of thing which will have to be faced by provincial hospital organizations, and I do so only for that reason. But in this case, having regard to the question of the number of beds and their type, the problems of housekeeping of one kind or another and the question of demand from the public, I make the plea that the public control unusual demand for service until the hospitals are in a position to meet it in an orderly, regular and safe way.
There is one other thing about which I wish to speak. I have mentioned the fact that we tend to focus our attention on the dramatic. As a person particularly interested in the preventive aspects of medicine and the prevention of many of these disabilities and sicknesses that fill our hospitals, I say that we must not forget that if we are going to keep our sickness and disability rate at a minimum, our public health services must be sufficiently strengthened and manned to carry through with this endeavour. Much of this is a matter of public education. Preventive medicine is not dramatic. In many instances it appears to be only negative. In the absence of something we fail to see its value. But when we fail to carry through those things which we know how to do, these problems arise again as they arise from the failure to keep our population sufficiently vaccinated against smallpox, or fail to keep it sufficiently immune against diphtheria, or even fail to keep >it sufficiently supplied with food as, for example, failure to keep bottle fed babies supplied with orange juice.
The last issue of the Canadian Medical Association journal contains a most surprising article on the incidence of scurvy in the city of Winnipeg and the city of Toronto. It all simply boils down to the fact that these children have suffered a deficiency disease through lack of fresh juice because of ignorance rather than because of economic difficulty in buying the fruit, most of which is plentiful and cheap. I can therefore only attribute it to a breakdown in the public health services. They could strive with greater effect to reach more people in this preventive field, particularly with regard to maternal and infant hygiene. These are things in which the county of Durham is interested, particularly the last because they

have supported and found useful one of the first county health units in the province of Ontario and of these things they are aware.
We come now to this question of what else in this debate on the address in reply to the speech from the throne one can say that is of value to the people of my riding. I think there is only one thing, namely that the people of the county of Durham have approved the government on its past performance, have taken the future on faith and are prepared to pay their way and plod along with the 18 million more who are helping to develop a country of over half a continent in size. We in this house must to the best of our ability truly represent the views and perhaps the hopes and the aspirations of our ridings. It is my hope that 1 may do that.


Mr. Jack McIntosh (Swift Current-Maple Creek):: As I rise to speak in this house for the first time may I offer my congratulations to you, Mr. Speaker, on your re-election as Speaker of the House of Commons. I should also like to extend my congratulations to the Deputy Speaker and to the hon. member for Spadina (Mr. Rea) on the appointments given to them.
At this time when national unity is so essential in our country, I believe that our party and the people of Canada generally should offer congratulations to the people of Quebec for sending to this house Conservative members of the calibre of those that we have amongst us in such great numbers. This action on the part of the people of Quebec I believe has done more to unify Canada than any act of parliament could ever do, and to prove to the world that there is at least one political party in Canada that is truly a national party.
We who have taken our seats in this house for the first time were informed by older members that we would find this experience rather confusing and possibly disappointing. At the moment I concurred. I am quite certain that had I expressed my first impression as a back-bencher the publicity received would have been as forceful as possibly the atom bomb. The deterring factor that entered my mind was one of Winston Churchill's quotations: Democratic government is the worst form of government ever devised by man except all other forms of government.
I am reminded of the first time I saw Niagara Falls. After building a picture in my own mind of how great the falls must be,
I remember the disappointment I felt at my first sight of that great tourist attraction. It was not nearly as large as I thought it should be. Likewise, I remember a sermon I once
The Address-Mr. McIntosh heard: Be careful of what you wish for, because you may get it; then it may not be good for you.
I was aware that my first impressions and my attitude would have to change before I attempted to make my maiden speech on behalf of the constituency of Swift Current-Maple Creek which I represent. This constituency covers an area of approximately 15,400 square miles and is situated in the southwest corner of Saskatchewan. The chief industries are grain farming and stock raising. Like others I am proud to be the first Conservative member in the history of this constituency of Swift Current-Maple Creek to present to this house a summary of the part the prairie people play in the economy of Canada.
At times it may appear that I am critical of the government of which I am a member. I do this with the thought in mind that if this is to be a good government, which at the moment lacks constructive criticism from those who are charged with the important responsibility of criticizing constructively, then we must set up within our own ranks a group to fulfil the role which the opposition is supposed to play in a democracy. The people of Canada in no uncertain measure have given our party members with which to do so.
Students of representative government have stated that one of the greatest dangers of democracy is the danger of class legislation.
These students further state that the two most powerful groups seeking special legislation in their own interests in Canada are organized labour and organized farmers. I am not in a position, nor am I qualified, to discuss this statemnt in regard to labour. However, having spent most of my life on a farm and working amongst farmers, I feel I can speak with some authority on their behalf.
I am sure that these students never had the opportunity or the experience of trying to organize farmers or they would have never recorded such a false impression. I admit that there are a number of individual farm organizations that may be considered pressure groups. I do not believe any amount of effort ever has or ever will be successful in organizing western grain farmers into one group. Western farmers are extremely individualistic people. During the early part of this century many of these people ventured into the west from eastern Canada, as well as from practically every country in the world. Some of these pioneers are still alive, and the descendants of others still retain this characteristic of independence. It can be said that their descendants come by their

The Address-Mr. McIntosh independence naturally, being the first generation of a group of proud and independent people.
I might point out that the western farmer is also very patriotic. I do not need to remind this house that the grain farmers were told in 1917 and again in 1942 that if they would accept a fair price for their wheat to help the war effort a grateful country would see that never again would they be asked to accept for their grain a price that did not show a reasonable profit. In 1932 wheat went down to 19 cents a bushel to the farmer. Again, in 1958, under existing legislation, wheat is being traded on the black market at 70 cents a bushel, whether we like it or not. In July, 1917 when wheat was being sold on the open market for $3.33 the Canadian government, through its agency, paid the western farmer $2.42 a bushel. Again in 1942, during world war II, the open market price for wheat went as high as $3.35 a bushel. The Canadian farmer received, through the government agency, $1.55 a bushel. With this promise of the Canadian government in mind, and remembering the comparison of the figures I have just quoted, I ask this house to lend a sympathetic ear to the presentations that have been made or will be put forth by western members. I am sure that one early request will be for deficiency payments on western grain.
On entering this house for the first time we were advised to think nationally; to weigh carefully all matters before we opposed or lent our support; to ascertain how the result of our support would affect Canada as a whole. Numerous briefs pass across our desks from industries requesting government assistance. I have one in mind, received not so long ago, concerning the mint price for gold. The group concerned suggests the government ought to consider setting a list price for gold of between $40 and $45 an ounce. We have heard the Minister of Transport (Mr. Hees) make references in this house to the subsidies paid to coast shipping to northern areas. In your eastern newspapers we read of requests being made for higher tariffs to be placed on textiles entering Canada from foreign countries in order to give protection to eastern textile industries.
We from the prairies, who are not familiar with the problems of these industries, do expect various members who are familiar with the problems to present information from the viewpoint of the constituencies which they represent. I trust that in this respect hon. members of this house will not think we are too provincial. It would appear

that some branches at least of the three industries I have just mentioned, namely mining, shipping and manufacturing, have been subsidized in one manner or another.
At six o'clock the house took recess.


[Stage Direction]
AFTER RECESS

The house resumed at eight o'clock.
John (Jack) McIntosh: Mr. Speaker, at six o'clock I had made reference to numerous Canadian industries which had been receiving subsidies in one manner or another. Since 1947 the western farmer has had an ever-enlarging problem with respect to wheat, which has been referred to as the cost-price squeeze. Briefly, the problem is that the cost of producing a bushel of wheat has been steadily increasing while the purchasing power of that same bushel of wheat has been steadily declining. In other words, any article which we could have bought in 1947 for one bushel of wheat would now take more than two bushels of wheat to purchase.
Numerous small problems have arisen as a result of this trend, and deficiency payments will not cure the major difficulty but will be only an interim measure. I have been informed by Liberal members of this house that wheat did not constitute the only problem to come out of Saskatchewan. I trust the hon. member to whom these members refer and who comes from Saskatchewan may give the same leadership in solving the problem of western Canadian wheat as he has given with respect to solving the problem of the unification of Canada. The mandate which he received from the people of Saskatchewan and in particular of the riding which I represent, is confirmation that our western farmers have the utmost faith in his ability to do so and the utmost faith in the principles of the party led by the right hon. member.
Let us not forget that we Progressive Conservatives retain the best of the old and traditional customs and favour the implementation of the more desirable of the new customs. Let us be guided by the basic and fundamental errors of previous governments. Our national and also world history affords convincing proof of the inability of any dictatorship or any form of dictatorship to successfully solve major problems in any country. With this knowledge let us take care that we do not continue in the same pattern, not only within our country, but within our party.
With the advent of the welfare state, let us remember that we, the party of free

enterprise to which the people have given a mandate, must not lose sight of the fact that now that the Canadian people have demonstrated their support at the polls they desire freedom of choice rather than compulsion or regimentation. The intrusion of government into private enterprise and private life has gone or is going beyond the principles of democracy and particularly the principles of our party. We of this party, I believe, will argue that government control is a cumbersome and expensive way of doing business. The people desire and are looking for a change. Let us not disappoint them. The real and permanent help which we as a government should strive to give to industry and also to individuals is of a nature which will restore usefulness and self-respect.
The fundamental principle with which we as a government should be concerned in respect of any industry in this great country of ours is the selling of the producer's product in the greatest volume at the highest possible price to the producer and at the smallest possible cost to the producer. I think we will agree the producers should have a basic price level guarantee such as agricultural Bill No. 237, which will keep them solvent and yet will not be so high that they will produce for the government rather than for the demands of the market; a guarantee which will ensure that the efficient producer can remain in business. There must also be interim measures such as subsidies, tariff protection and deficiency payments in order to bridge the gaps caused by unsolved national problems over which the individual has no control.
In the constituency which I represent, as in many other parts of this country, we have problems which can be solved only at the federal government level. As a newcomer to this house my present concern is how and in what manner does a backbencher contribute to the solution of such problems? Being a junior member of parliament under our parliamentary system presents a problem not previously known or anticipated by ourselves or by those who elected us. I believe we feel that we have been handed a coconut with instructions-or I should say without instructions-as to how to penetrate the hard shell with our bare hands. We know it is essential to get to the milk in order to survive. Those of us who were in the services were taught that no man is indispensable and I would remind all hon. members that the last election indicates that the same axiom applies to political parties as well as to individual members of parliament. During the past decade the people of Canada woke up to the fact that there had been a tendency on
The Address-Mr. McIntosh the part of the government to mislead them. These people are no longer willing to play the role of pupils looking to the cabinet as their teacher, they require action and not answers from their parliamentary representatives.
I would remind hon. members that in order to gain the privilege of attending this assembly for a second term and in order to think on a nation-wide basis we must first prove to those at the constituency level that we are capable of contributing to the solution of the problems in our own ridings. There will be no excuses for us to offer at the end of our term of office. We are now on our own, but we have the knowledge that the highest authority in the land has been given to us, the mandate to speak on behalf of the exceptionally great number of people it is our privilege to serve. In spite of the obstacles in our paths, our duty is clear-it is to remove such obstacles and to this end I am convinced we are pledged.
I trust I will have the opportunity to speak at a later date on such matters as unemployment insurance for farm labourers, railway and mail service to rural communities, freight rates and service at non-competitive prairie points, municipal education costs-which I am aware at the present time is a provincial matter-the question of why Canada's wheat exports to world markets have dropped from the prewar figure of 40 per cent to the present 25 per cent, the mounting costs of government administration, the financial straitjacket within which municipalities are endeavouring to operate and the tax structure which now permits the federal government to take more than 80 per cent of the total tax dollar, leaving less than 20 per cent for the provinces and the municipalities.
I have been impressed with the dignity of this house in many respects, although I have wondered at times if that same impression is shared by spectators in our public galleries.
I am referring particularly to the teachers who attend with their classes. These teachers are trying to convey to the children in their classes the responsibility resting upon the shoulders of the elected members. I would imagine that these children must wonder sometimes at the value of introducing into this house material obtained from the sports pages of the daily newspapers.
In conclusion, may I refer once more to the quotation of Winston Churchill: Democracy is the worst form of government devised by man except all others. With this thought in mind and with the knowledge that we, the party of the present government, are the exponents of free enterprise, I would ask those of you who are aware of their limitations,

The Address-Mr. Crestohl as I am aware of mine, to carefully weigh our power to inflict government interference upon private enterprise and to regiment our people into a state of totalitarianism.


Mr. L. D. Crestohl (Cartier):: Mr. Speaker, may I at the outset offer to you my congratulations upon the renewed confidence unanimously expressed by the house upon your election to preside over the twenty-fourth parliament as you so ably presided over the twenty-third parliament. At the same time I am pleased to congratulate the Deputy Speaker (Mr. Sevigny) upon his appointment and to note that he is following in the footsteps of his illustrious father who, during the course of his career, served with distinction, first as the Deputy Speaker of this house, and later as its Speaker.
I would also like to say a word to our many colleagues who are during this debate making their maiden speeches and to wish them a successful parliamentary career so long as the vicissitudes of elections allow them to remain in parliament.
Speaking about the vicissitudes of elections, all hon. members of the house have just returned from the election battlefield, and because of the majority which the government now enjoys there is an apparent truce for the next four years. A general election in Canada is indeed a gigantic effort, and we are perhaps prone to take the carrying out of a general election too much for granted. I should like the house to contemplate for a moment the tremendous effort and detail which go into the organization, direction and completion of a general election. The technical, legal and physical work is staggering. Hundreds of thousands of people are required; hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of printing are used; distribution of all this material has to be made, and all with the most careful accuracy and precision, and in compliance with a highly technical election act.
When, therefore, we, the members of the House of Commons, look a little closer at this gigantic effort and visualize what actually takes place before a new parliament is elected by most democratic procedure, it is fitting that we acknowledge the ability and the devotion to duty of the chief electoral officer, Mr. Nelson Castonguay, his deputy, Colonel E. A. Anglin, Q.C. and the other members of their staff. I want to pay tribute to the efficiency, the organizational genius, the courage in making important decisions and the extreme sense of fairness and justice of Canada's chief electoral officer. He is an exemplary civil servant, one that any country in the world would be proud to have, and he merits this recognition from all members of the house, regardless of where they sit.

May I also, Mr. Speaker, avail myself of the privilege of recording my own appreciation and, I am sure, the gratitude of many Canadians for the greetings which our Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) transmitted on behalf of the people of Canada to the prime minister of Israel on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its founding. I deem it appropriate at this time to quote for the record both the text of the Prime Minister's greeting and the acknowledgment by Mr. Ben-Gurion, the prime minister of Israel. The following is the Canadian greeting:
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
I am taking advantage of the visit of the Hon. William Hamilton, Postmaster General, to send this message conveying to you and to the Israel nation as a whole the sincere good wishes of the government and people of Canada on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the State of Israel.
The achievements of the Israeli people over the last ten years in the development of their country have won universal acclaim, and we earnestly hope that the second decade of Israel's existence will see not only a continuation of your nation's rapid and fruitful progress, but also the establishment of an enduring peace on a mutually acceptable basis between Israel and its neighbours. You may rest assured that the Canadian government will continue its support of United Nations efforts to remove causes of tension and to work towards a permanent peace in the area, conscious that peaceful conditions are an essential prerequisite for Israel's prosperity and well-being.
I should like to take this opportunity to express my confidence that the close and friendly relations which have existed between our two countries ever since the founding of Israel will be still further developed and strengthened in the future.
I am,
Yours sincerely,
John G. Diefenbaker.
The following is the Israeli acknowledgment:
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
Thank you so much for your letter of April 14th, which Mr. Hamilton has faithfully delivered into my hands. I am taking the liberty of using his good services again to send you this message of greeting and sincere appreciation for the kind words which you have addressed to me.
The government and the people of Israel will never forget the many expressions of friendship and solidarity which the Canadian people have made to them on numerous occasions, especially in periods of crisis, during the past ten years. For these, we shall always be indebted to your country.
I share with you most fervently the hope that the second decade of our existence will see the establishment of peaceful conditions in our area and, indeed, throughout the world, so that all peace-loving nations may reap the blessings of their endeavours.
May the next decade, and those that follow, witness the further strengthening of the bonds of friendship which already exist between our two peoples.
Sincerely yours,
David-Ben-Gurion

Canada's role in this historic event is well known and we can justly take pride in the leadership given by Canadian statesmen to establish the state of Israel and its entry into the family of nations.
I had the privilege of being present only a few weeks ago at a function in this city presided over by Mr. Allan Bronfman of Montreal at which an expression of gratitude from the people of Israel was conveyed to four distinguished Canadians for their assistance. The right hon. Prime Minister, the hon. Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Pearson), the Hon. Mr. Justice Rand of the Supreme Court and Sir Ellsworth Flavelle, were each the recipient from the Israeli ambassador to Canada, on behalf of his government, of a special edition of the Jerusalem bible, appropriately bound and suitably inscribed.
This is a most touching tribute expressed in a most significant form. Israel grants no titles or decorations, and when it desires to express recognition on the highest level it is so appropriate for the people of the Bible to do it by presenting Holy Bibles to those whom it wishes to honour.
I am indeed proud as a Canadian speaking in this chamber to give expression to these thoughts, and to thank fellow Canadians for the heartwarming greetings sent to the people of Israel on this dramatic and historic occasion.
I desire now to address myself to one or two phases of this debate. A few days ago, May 20th to be exact, the hon. member for Battle River-Camrose (Mr. Smallwood) made some rather inaccurate and disturbing statements. He said, for example, at page 290 of Hansard, and I quote:
The present government is the first national government in 30 years to represent all the people of Canada, the first government in 30 years that has representation from every province in the dominion.
That statement was patently incorrect. The hon. member is either badly informed or unaware of the facts, or I am sure he would not have made such an inaccurate statement.
Even more ill-considered are the statements he made at page 291 of Hansard, when he criticized the opposition for bringing 250,000 immigrants to Canada in 1956. He resents the fact that government officials met these immigrants on arrival, fed and housed them, and escorted them to the unemployment insurance office to be given jobs. The hon. gentleman seems to find the greatest fault with a group of 200 immigrants who were working on a project because, to use his own words, "Not one of them could speak the English language."
This is an attitude that can rightfully be resented by every person who has ever immigrated into Canada and by fair-minded
The Address-Mr. Crestohl Canadians across the whole country. I wonder what the Minister of Labour (Mr. Starr), the hon. member for Hamilton East (Mr. Martini) and the hon. member for Vancouver Centre (Mr. Jung), who like myself are sons of immigrants to Canada, think about their colleague's statement?
Does the hon. member pretend that only those who speak English have a right to immigrate to this country, and only those who can speak English are entitled to have employment and to enjoy the rights which the government of Canada grants to all its people?
The hon. member surely does not mean to be critical of the fact that our immigration officials extended normal Canadian hospitality and courtesies to newcomers to our shores. I rather think the officials deserve our commendation for making these immigrants welcome and helping them secure employment. This has always been and I hope always will be Canadian government policy regardless of what party might be in power.
Let the hon. member bear in mind and never forget that we in Canada today are all immigrants or the offspring of immigrants, whether our ancestors spoke English on arrival or any other language. It may be well to remind him, too, that the only natives of this wonderful country are those whom the first European explorers and settlers found here and the natives knew not a single word of English. It is unnecessary, I am sure, to remind the hon. gentleman that it was only the influx to Canada of European immigrants who spoke many languages that developed our country and helped make it the great tolerant nation it is today.
I am afraid that the hon. member for Battle River-Camrose has not grasped the full scope of what makes a nation wholesome and great, or is he proclaiming a new Conservative concept? If he was not present in the house when his colleague the hon. member for Parkdale (Mr. Maloney) spoke, I would recommend that he carefully read his speech. He will find it is a much more accurate assessment of the value of immigrants to Canada regardless of what language they speak. I quote from that speech as reported at page 251 of Hansard of May 20 last:
-"Attracted by this diversity which was our national characteristic were thousands upon thousands of people whose racial origins were to be found in the countries of central and eastern Europe and the Baltic States. They brought with them to this country their ancient cultures, their ancient traditions and customs. Each of them in its turn was to enrich our life, to add to it and to make the Canadian nationality something greater, something that it had not been before."
How different is this point of view from the one expresed by the hon. member for
562	HOUSE OF
The Address-Mr. Crestohl Battle River-Camrose. But strangely enough the government by its new and recently announced immigration policy is not consistent with the experience, theory and findings of its colleague, the hon. member for Parkdale, and its action appears to represent a new approach to immigrants and their value to our economy. It is my firm belief that an active program of immigration to Canada would quickly build a home consumers market to replace the export market which world conditions have compelled Canada to lose to a very large extent.
I am convinced that it was shortsightedness which did not allow for a greater influx of immigrants when they were available. If our population today were 30 million, as it may well have been, our problem of finding consumers for Canadian-made products would not be as acute as it is now and unemployment would not be as great.
The Liberal government since 1945 has expanded Canada's immigration program and admitted approximately 1J million immigrants. I was constantly of the opinion that it should have done much more. How shocking, therefore, is the government's announcement that it has stopped immigration except for some selectiveness and that the stoppage will continue until such time as there is relief in the unemployment situation.


Mr. McGee:: What are you reading from?


Leon David Crestohl: Mr. Speaker, if the honourable heckler will kindly identify himself or make his question clear I will be happy to answer it.


Frank Charles McGee: I was wondering what page you were reading from right now.


Leon David Crestohl: I will let you know.


Frank Charles McGee: What page number? *


Leon David Crestohl: The same pages you used and the same pages that most hon. members in your party are using when they are addressing the house.


An hon. Member:: They make better
speeches, though.


Mr. Balcer:: They are better readers.


Frank Charles McGee: Why not write your own speech instead of reading quotations from ours?


Leon David Crestohl: If you can name anyone else who wrote this speech, I would like to know about it.


Lester Bowles Pearson: At least your father-in-law does not write them.


Mr. Speaker:: Order.


Leon David Crestohl: It is quite possible, and I realize it, that what I am saying may hurt and consequently interruptions will doubtless be made, but if they are made according to the rules of the house I will be very happy to deal with them.


An hon. Member:: Give it to them; they deserve it.


Leon David Crestohl: I suggest that the government's action in stopping immigration creates a dangerous and vicious circle. The hon. member for Queens-Lunenburg (Mr. Crouse) bemoaned the fact that unemployment is the result of Canada's loss of its export market; it lost most of its customers. I agree with that statement. We constantly seek to remedy this sad situation and we must find other consumers of goods produced by Canadian labour. If there are no customers available abroad let us have them at home. This cannot be accomplished by a closed door or carefully selected immigration policy. A policy of this nature will only perpetuate unemployment. I therefore address myself to the government urging it to give careful consideration to a synthesis of these two approaches which will genuinely benefit this greatly underpopulated country and provide an ample home market for Canadian manufactured goods and thus reduce, and in time altogether eliminate, unemployment.


Frank Charles McGee: Page 12.


Leon David Crestohl: What was that comment?


Frank Charles McGee: Page 12.


Leon David Crestohl: How do you know it is page 12? The hon. member is probably impatient, but he will doubtless be a little more impatient as I progress.


An hon. Member:: You mean regress.


Leon David Crestohl: I would also like to refer briefly to two items only one of which was referred to in the throne speech and it is my humble opinion that the other also should have been dealt with.
I shall deal first with the one which was omitted. I was considerably surprised that no encouragement was given in support of education especially at the university level. This is all the more astonishing because of the national conference on education which took place in Ottawa recently and at which the government was represented. It heard at first hand of the mounting crisis in education all across the country and it was therefore anticipated that appropriate consideration would be given this matter in the throne speech. Whilst assistance is urgently needed in every part of the country the situation is

catastrophic in some sections to a degree that commands national attention.
The world has moved from the muscle age to the missile age, and without extolling the general values of education it is an accepted fact that we in Canada are woefully far behind the enemies of democracy in the field of research, such a vital factor in our national defence. Inadequate facilities for higher learning can unfortunately become a national disaster and therefore the problem merits energetic attention without delay.
It was a sad thing to learn the other day that the University of Montreal, one of our great institutions of learning and the one where I had the privilege of studying law, is facing the prospect of closing its doors for lack of funds. In fact, Monsignor Lussier, its rector, one of Canada's outstanding pedagogues and teachers, is quoted as saying:
The university's forthcoming budget will show its disastrous financial situation. Education costs the college three times as much as the fees collected from students, and in certain cases as much as six times the cost to the student. The university is dying.
What a tragedy. Think of it; a great university is dying. Will we, the national parliament of Canada, sit idly by and listen to its death groans and occupy our time by fiddling around with technical and constitutional problems and not come to its rescue?
Do hon. members know that, apart from the incalculable value that this institution has been to Canada in the past, it now houses perhaps the greatest research laboratory in the world for nervous diseases and tensions under the direction of Dr. Hans Selye, who is acknowledged the world's greatest authority on this subject? I would recommend to hon. members on the other side who are impatient that perhaps it would do them some good to consult Dr. Selye.
Can we, on the national level, permit our country to lose such an authority and teacher? Our youth is already too seriously prejudiced by the exorbitant increases in university fees to allow it to be even more seriously prejudiced by losing Canada's great teachers and reducing the number of our universities. That would be a national tragedy, as I previously said, and an unthinkable setback to the intellectual and scientific development of our country.
I have mentioned the case of the University of Montreal only to underscore the seriousness of the situation. Extreme difficulties are being experienced by McGill University, my alma mater, which, although it receives substantial subventions, has nevertheless been compelled to increase tuition fees twice since last September. Every other university and institution of higher learning in the province
The Address-Mr. Crestohl of Quebec has been seriously hurt by the fact that they are prevented from accepting help from the national treasury. Although there are great problems facing the government, this one is no less important than most of the others.
There may, perhaps, have been some constitutional or political implications why the premier of Quebec has not in the past favoured the acceptance by Quebec universities of the assistance which was proffered by a federal government with which he was not in political sympathy. I am hopeful that the Prime Minister, who now heads a government with which the premier of Quebec appears to have more sympathy, will be able to work out a means by which the universities in the province of Quebec can be given the relief they so anxiously seek.
It will be a sad day for our universities- indeed, for the whole of Canada-if the premier of Quebec persists in his refusal to favour federal government grants to universities in the province of Quebec, unless some other method is devised by our constitutional and legislative giants not only to relieve the present difficulties of the Quebec universities but also to extend facilities for increased university education for all Canadians. This, I submit, should be done now and not later. There is some hope that the Prime Minister's announcement, which he promised a few days ago to make in the near future, concerning this problem will provide a form of relief that will be acceptable to the universities, to the premier of Quebec and to the entire country.
I would now like to deal with the second matter which, as I stated, was referred to in the throne speech, namely the problem of unemployment. With some daring, perhaps, I desire to offer a suggestion to the government, which it may consider to have some merit, to help relieve this painful situation. It is an accepted fact that lack of sales of our merchandise is responsible for a large part of unemployment. Both wholesalers and retailers are carrying tremendous inventories. If a method can be devised whereby these stocks may be moved to consumers a cycle of employment would naturally follow. I think such a cycle would be created if the government would forthwith proclaim a sales tax holiday for 30 days. Permit me to attempt to explain briefly what this would mean in its practical form as I see it.
The other day it was stated that savings bank balances were never as high as they are now. In other words, the consumer has the means to purchase, and if he can be induced to buy, the chain reaction will commence to function. President Eisenhower's
564	HOUSE OF
The Address-Mr. Crestohl "buy now" plea to the United States public is meeting with great success. His plea to the United States people is based purely on patriotic grounds. Our "buy now" request for this 30-day period will have the added inducement of reduced prices that should be even more successful than the United States program. Automobiles, for example, would at once be available at prices reduced by approximately $200 or $300; refrigerators, television sets, radios, electrical appliances, furniture and all other commodities would be reduced in price.
If the federal government could in some way persuade the provincial and municipal authorities likewise to grant this 30-day holiday in the sales tax which is locally imposed, an added impetus to buying would result. We could stimulate the greatest buying boom in Canadian history. It was never more needed than it is now. Canadian economists are unanimous in saying that nothing would be more helpful to reduce unemployment than such a buying spree. Inventories in retail stores will in this way become quickly depleted. The storekeepers will then turn to the wholesalers for renewed supplies; the wholesalers will then turn to the manufacturers; the manufacturers' inventories will be reduced and they in turn will call on labour to replenish their stocks. There is the chain reaction resulting from a tax holiday on only 30 days.
It may be true that the sales tax holiday may temporarily deprive the government of some of its revenue, but that will be quickly compensated by the reduction in unemployment relief costs and by income tax which will be available from many individuals who now have no earnings and therefore pay no income tax.
I am told that our income from sales tax is about $56 million per month and that would be the approximate loss in income to the government from sales tax during this 30-day holiday. In one month-I think in the month of March-some $79 million alone was paid out in unemployment relief. If we can stimulate this buying activity, first of all the payments for unemployment relief will be considerably reduced. There will be additional income from income tax. All of these people who will be selling merchandise in this terrific "buy boom" will certainly be earning money instead of having their inventories accumulating dust on their shelves.
I am confident that the $56 million which the government will not collect in sales tax during that month will be abundantly compensated in the very near future, and certainly they will profit by it in the long run.


That is my humble suggestion for some form of speedy relief to our unemployment problem.


Mr.   Ed. R. Lockyer@Trinity: Mr. Speaker, I should like to join the many others in offering you my hearty congratulations in again being selected by your fellow members to rule this house. Your dignity and poise make a commendable contribution to the high order of procedure in this parliament. I join in the chorus of others in congratulating the Deputy Speaker (Mr. Sevigny) and the deputy chairman of committees of the whole house (Mr. Rea). I am sure we are all impressed by the eloquence and the masterly way in which the mover (Mr. Lafreniere) and the seconder (Mr. Nielsen) opened the debate on the speech from the throne.
I have the honour to represent Trinity riding which is located almost exactly in the centre of Toronto. It is bounded on the south by the shores of lake Ontario and to the immediate west lie the grounds of the great Canadian National Exhibition. Nearly three million people from the United States and Canada visit the booths of this exhibition and view the exhibits of our respective provinces. There is also in this riding the home of the famous Massey-Ferguson plant, manufacturers of world known tractors, combines and other farm machinery; in addition there is in it part of the John Inglis plant and the York Knitting Mills. You can therefore readily see that I am concerned about the employment situation and the definite steps this government has taken to stimulate job opportunities. It will be my purpose and endeavour to assist in every way possible to develop our economy so that every able bodied man enjoys the dignity of gainful employment. I am sure that with the great national program indicated in the speech from the throne those happy days are not too far away.
We have also in Trinity riding two large senior citizens' homes, namely Lambert Lodge, which was formerly the Christie street soldiers' hospital, this home houses 750 senior citizens, and Hilltop Acres with over 200 therein. Those two homes are considered to be models of their kind on the continent and they are being constantly improved. The folks in these homes lived pioneering lives in a Canada far removed from what we see around us today. Their sacrifices and loyal devotion in their own way helped to lay the foundation for the Canada we enjoy. I know they would want me to thank the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefen-baker) and his government for making life somewhat easier for them in the sunset of their lives by increasing old age pensions

from the scandalous amount of $46 per month proposed by the Liberals to the $55 which they now receive with gratitude. It is my hope that when the study of the United States and other social security programs is completed we shall be able to be even more realistic in our assistance to our senior citizens.
We have in Trinity riding people from many lands who selected Canada as their future home. They brought to us their culture and skills to enrich and enhance our progress as a nation. Many have set up businesses and are self-employed. Not a few have started industries employing many others. Many of these fine people by perseverance and ingenious methods escaped the tyranny and cruel design of their communist masters. The freedom they now enjoy to work out their own destiny is shadowed only by the horrible fact that many of their friends and relatives are still slaves of these godless tyrants. May Providence speed the day when these vicious men reap what they have sown. The people in my riding will welcome the bill of rights legislation as a hope or guarantee that no future government by any act will ever deprive them of their own individual rights.
I should like to speak briefly on our growing problems in education, fully realizing that legislative improvements are provincial prerogatives under our constitution. However, notwithstanding this consideration, the facts are that with the growing importance of science, higher mathematics, chemistry and physics in our civilization, education becomes a great national concern. The advent of sputniks and muttniks has aroused apprehension as to whether we are training the best brains we have in sufficient numbers to keep up with developments in other countries.
The people of Canada should know that we are spending far too little of our national income on education. It might surprise hon. members of this house, who no doubt have heard groanings in their respective ridings about the extravagant spending on education, that we are actually spending less than a loaf of bread or a bottle of milk and much less than a package of cigarettes per day per family for education in Canada. This includes elementary and secondary school costs of less than two and a half per cent of our national income or, if we include higher learning, less than three and a half per cent of our national income. If we compare this expenditure with that of the U.S.S.R. we find that they spend over ten per cent of their national income on education. We have boys and girls richly endowed with talent and inquiring minds capable of great contribution in research who
The Address-Mr. Lockyer for lack of encouragement and monetary help become a tragic brain waste to Canada.
I had the privilege of attending a United States convention dealing with the exceptional child and at which there were 1,600 delegates in attendance, 60 from Canada; and one thing I observed was a sense of urgency. I submit that our freedom is so closely allied to scientific achievement that we need a sense of urgency here in Canada. May I quote from an address by Dr. C. C. Goldring entitled "Is Education Facing a Crisis or a Challenge". He is dealing with teacher shortage. Dr. Goldring is director of education in the city of Toronto. He said this:
I should like now to deal more extensively with one or two of the problems mentioned in this brief survey. The first is the problem of teacher supply. Recently the dominion bureau of statistics at Ottawa issued a report which puts before the people of Canada in a realistic manner the very great crisis to be faced during the next few years. According to this report there are at present approximately 123,200 teachers in the public and independent schools of Quebec and the publicly controlled schools of the other nine provinces. Let us assume that an elementary school teacher should have at least high school graduation at the junior matriculation level plus one full year of teacher training, and a secondary school teacher at least a university degree plus one full year of teacher training or the equivalent. On this basis, 25,250 of the teachers-slightly more than one in five- possess less than the desirable amount of education and training. In other words, this year not more than four out of every five teachers in Canada possess minimum qualifications for the work that they are doing. It might be added that the report states that 9,000 additional teachers are now needed to eliminate overcrowding. This picture of teacher shortage is not good. However, there seems to be little immediate probability of any considerable improvement.
Between 1956 and 1965 it is estimated that the elementary school enrolment in Canada will increase by 32.9 per cent and the secondary school enrolment in the same period will increase by 60 per cent. Accordingly, in seven years the requirements will be not for 123,000 teachers, one-fifth of whom do not possess the minimum qualifications, but 230,100 qualified teachers. By 1970, Canada will require 367,400 qualified teachers according to present estimates. It is evident that a very active and successful campaign must be carried on to secure and train these additional teachers.
You will note that in pointing out the future crisis in the availability of trained teachers Dr. Goldring quotes from our own bureau of statistics. I have some additional figures here showing a comparison of the university graduates as between the United States and Canada. In the year 1955-56, there were 311,295 students who received degrees from United States universities. In Canada, during the same year, 13,000 students received degrees. The ratio, based on population, of those receiving degrees was 2J times greater in the United States than in Canada. I submit that is not a healthy condition for education in our nation.
586	HOUSE OF
The Address-Mr. Lockyer
Having these factors in mind, I will support the resolution offered by the hon. member for Davenport (Mr. Morton) that a fact-finding committee be set up to study how the government can give greater assistance to education.
I further propose that a conference of provincial ministers of education be called to discuss their respective problems and suggest also that this government make available generous grants, as bursaries or in some other form, to assist students. I realize this is not a solution but it would be of immediate help. I believe that just as we have achieved free elementary and secondary education we should set our sights on free university education in Canada.
The next matter I wish to discuss is housing. The Progressive Conservative government deserves great credit for courageously facing this problem and making $750 million in mortgage money available to assist building and employment. In my constituency housing is almost the number one problem. Family accommodation is impossible to obtain. As a member of the city of Toronto planning board I participated in a detailed survey of two of our blighted areas which, I believe, are common to nearly all urban centres. In brief, we found that our tax recovery due to low valuation did not nearly compensate for the health costs, police costs, fire costs or education costs. It was felt, therefore, that these areas should be rebuilt with suitable accommodation for families which would be available at rentals within their earning capacity. These projects should be pursued as an employment aid, and with a view to rehabilitating the families into more wholesome surroundings. Our experience with Regent Park, a low-rental development, has been gratifying. We have reduced the cost of nearly every municipal service. May I suggest that the Minister of Public Works (Mr. Green) give this aspect of the matter serious thought. Services and transportation are already available in such areas and they should form a definite part of our building program.
In the matter of National Housing Act developments, I would suggest that because down payments and other expenses to make new homes livable are heavy, the cost of stoves and refrigerators, which are as necessary as sinks and furnaces, be included in the overall mortgage.
I have heard a great many post mortems performed by hon. gentlemen in the opposition, but not one of them seemed to realize how far out of touch they were with the people of Canada. I submit that the Prime Minister, in his great appeal to the people of Canada, simply awoke the sleeping giant


and put into words a vision concealed in the hearts of Canadians in every part of this country. If the hon. gentlemen of the opposition would contribute constructively instead of obstructing by a multiplicity of meaningless words, as we witnessed in the delaying of the housing bill and the unemployment insurance extension bill, they would earn a great deal more respect, at least from the members who are new in this house.
It is a great honour that my friends have conferred on me in electing me to sit in this great body. My constituency was once represented by one of Canada's great sports competitors, the late Lionel Conacher. I shall ever be conscious of my duty to give my best to assist this great government, since it represents more completely than any other government in history the people of Canada. The speeches we have heard from members from every province indicating unity awakens an even greater sense of pride in one, at being part of this great Progressive Conservative party. To the people of Trinity, regardless of race, colour or creed, may I say that I shall ever be their humble servant.
(Translation):


Mr. Marcel Boivin (Shefford):: Mr. Speaker, I feel I should, first of all, add my congratulations to those already proffered to you as well as to the mover and seconder of the address in reply to the speech from the throne, the hon. members for Quebec-Mont-morency (Mr. Lafreniere) and the Yukon (Mr. Nielsen).
From the start of the debate on the address in reply to the speech from the throne, our new fellow-members have realized how much you deserved to be called upon to fill the post you are occupying now for a second term.
I am also happy to stress the wisdom of the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) in appointing the hon. member for Longueuil (Mr. Sevigny), in spite of outside criticism, to the post of Deputy Speaker. But, after this house learned about the parliamentary background of his family for the past 40 years from the hon. Minister of Finance (Mr. Fleming) on Wednesday, May 14th last, the still existing dissatisfaction has somewhat abated, even if a Conservative member of the last parliaments has not been chosen. But this was not the only instance of discontent in the Conservative ranks.
Reminding us of the stay of his father in this house, the Minister of Finance revived old memories in the mind of "Yours truly". On the opening of the 13th parliament, on March 18, 1918, the Hon. Edgar N. Rhodes,

member for Cumberland, succeeded his father as Speaker. Three days after this appointment one of the predecessors of the hon. Prime Minister-and I mean the Hon. Sir Robert Borden, then prime minister-called the attention of the house to standing order 13 of the rules of the house in these words:
The thirteenth rule of the House provides that a Chairman of Committees of the House shall be elected at the commencement of every Parliament as soon as an Address has been agreed to in answer to His Excellency's speech, and the second paragraph of that rule provides that the member elected to serve as Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees shall be required to possess a full and practical knowledge of the language which is not that of the Speaker for the time being. Now your language, Mr. Speaker, is English, although occasionally you make successful excursions into the French language. Unfortunately, we are not blessed on this side of the House with a very large number of gentlemen who fulfil the qualifications required by the second paragraph of the rule which I have just quoted. The junior member for Ottawa (Mr. Chabot) does undoubtedly possess those qualifications, but he finds himself unable to undertake the duties. Possibly, there are one or two other members on this side of the House who might be considered as possessing the knowledge alluded to. However, it has always been the custom of this House that when the Chair is filled by a Speaker of British descent, the Deputy Speaker shall be one who traces his origin to the other great pioneer race in this country.	It seems to me inadvisable that we
should depart from that practice at the present time. I have spoken to my right hon. friend the Leader of the Opposition on the subject, as I would not care to make a motion of this kind with regard to an hon. gentleman on the other side of the House without conferring with him. The hon. member for Shefford (Mr. Boivin) has had an experience in this House of some six or seven years. He is eminently qualified by ability and by temperament to undertake the duties which would devolve upon the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees. Moreover, he has shown a careful study and an intimate knowledge of the rules, as has been demonstrated on more than one occasion when questions of order were discussed in the late Parliament. I have, therefore, great pleasure in moving, seconded by Sir George Foster:
That George Henry Boivin, Esquire, member of the electoral district of Shefford, be appointed Chairman of the Committees of the Whole House.
On this occasion, the Right Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier reminded the house that there was no bilingual member of parliament capable of filling the post of Deputy Speaker to be found in the ranks of the Conservative party and here I quote his words:
Mr. Speaker, my right hon. friend has stated the rules of the house correctly, and I hope the spirit in which he makes his motion, of recognizing the different elements which compose our population, will prevail at all times. The rule with regard to the election of a Deputy Speaker has worked satisfactorily in the past, and I am sure I hope it will continue to work so in the future. My right hon. friend has stated that, unfortunately for the Government, it is not blessed with many supporters speaking the language which ought to be spoken by the Chairman of Committees. I regret that as much as he does, but it is his own
The Address-Mr. Boivin
fault and not the fault of the people to whom he alluded, and when he mends his ways he may be sure of having better support.
Mr. Speaker, Conservative members from the other provinces have always been opposed to the Quebec members enjoying their share in the House of Commons and, to support that statement, I would like to quote here words to be found on page 75 of Hansard of March 21, 1918, which were spoken by Mr. Currie, the then Conservative member for Simcoe-North. I quote:
It is true that it has been the custom to appoint a member from Quebec to the position either of Speaker or of Deputy Speaker, but there are other members in the house outside the province of Quebec who have a knowledge of the French language, and I think that some steps should have been taken to appoint one of those members. Moreover, if the province of Quebec is desirous of being represented in the person of the Deputy Speaker, the constitutional practice should have been followed, one of the members of the Opposition should have resigned and allowed a supporter of this government to take his seat and the Deputy Speakership. That is customary. The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House are chosen by the majority in the House. They represent the views of the majority of the House.
That Conservative member, Mr. Speaker, then made an unfortunate statement and I quote:	*
I have not forgotten the opposition of the hon. member for Shefford (Mr. Boivin) to the Military Service Act and to the attempts on the part of members on this side of the House to send aid to the soldiers in the trenches.
May I recall that after the war of 19141918, my late father received from the Pope a decoration that was presented to him by the apostolic delegate to Canada, at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, as a token of gratitude for what he had done for our soldiers fighting overseas during that war, which contradicts, in itself, the statement of the Conservative member of that time. I would like to add that this was the only occasion since confederation when a Liberal member was appointed Deputy Speaker of this house under a Conservative administration.
I take this opportunity to extend my most sincere congratulations to my colleagues to the right on the facility with which they have learned our language. The incident of 1918, I am sure, will not be repeated.
When the Deputy Speaker of this house who represents, as I do, a south shore constituency was appointed I remembered that his father had been minister of internal revenue, a portfolio which my father held later on in the first government of Mr. Mackenzie King when that department was called the department of customs and excise.

The Address-Mr. Boivin
I also wish to offer my congratulations to the hon. member for Spadina (Mr. Rea) upon his appointment to the post of deputy chairman of committees.
I would like to offer my congratulations to the Prime Minister, to the new government members, and I wish to refer in particular to the hon. members for Labelle (Mr. Courte-manche) and Lotbiniere (Mr. O'Hurley), as well as to the hon. minister from Hamilton-West (Mrs. Fairclough) who has been entrusted with the Department of Citizenship and Immigration.
I am also pleased to offer my congratulations to the new members, the majority of whom are sitting on your right, Mr. Speaker. I would ask them, however, not to delude themselves, since during the last five parliaments that I have been here, many have passed in this house and history tells us that every time a Conservative government came into power, its existence was of short duration.
Congratulations are in order in the case of my colleagues sitting on the left side of the house for their speeches in this debate.
I also wish to thank most sincerely the organizers and electors of the constituency I have the honour of representing in this house for the confidence they gave me a fifth time, and I wish to tell them that I am very grateful and that I will continue, as in the past, to devote myself to their interests.
I would like to mention, Mr. Speaker, that the city of Granby, where I was born, will celebrate next year its first centennial. As a matter of fact, the municipal authorities have already begun organizing those festivities, and it is my wish that they mark a new advance in peace, understanding and continuous prosperity. I take this opportunity to express my best wishes to the first magistrate and the citizens of the city of Granby.
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative party, under the able guidance of its leader and through good publicity, gained once again the confidence of the Canadian people and was returned to power. The publicity of their last campaign gave me an opportunity to look into my files; I found that their publicity was the same as it was at the time of the Hon. R. B. Bennett. Yes, indeed, my colleagues here will remember the publicity made in October, 1935. The Minister of Finance took us back 40 years. This time, I am going back 23 years. During the 1935 campaign, senator J. H. Rainville, director of the Conservative campaign, wrote a letter entitled:



TO THE FRENCH CANADIAN ELECTORATE OF CANADA

[Stage Direction]
As director of the campaign of the Right Hon. R. B. Bennett in French Canada, allow me to discharge a duty which seems to me to be imperative, my duty as organizer, as elector and as a Canadian.
The times we are going through and the new mentality created by the depression makes it necessary that we should rise above party lines to consider only the ultimate welfare of Canada and of Canadians.
I urge all my fellow-citizens not to vote for a colour or merely to support a certain group, but to vote for the better interests of the Canadian nation, vote for the interest of your home, vote for your children's future security. Never in the history of the Canadian people, will your vote carry greater consequences and will have wider repercussions than that which you shall give on October 14.
But the Canadian people who had gone through the depression years of 1930 to 1935 were not to be led astray by this appeal to feeling, and the Liberal party came into power as it will do once again in 1962 or 1963.
Mr. Ricard:: That is not so sure.


Marcel Boivin: Mr. Speaker, with your permission, we shall go back six years. The Conservative party, in March, 1952, published a pamphlet entitled "Political Precis". In the centre page the following words may be found:
INCREASE OF UNEMPLOYMENT under a Liberal government Through overtaxation and credit restriction, the government was brutal towards the small income people. In so doing, it launched the worst unemployment crisis that we have ever had since the 1930's.
Serious difficulties have occurred, specially in the automobile, the textile and the household electrical appliance industries.
I hope that in the course of this session those who are here and who were members at the time of publication of this pamphlet will remember its contents.
I have here, Mr. Speaker, another pamphlet published in August and September of 1952-


Mr. Flynn:: You too have your pamphlets.


Marcel Boivin: Indeed we have and we are
not afraid to show them. All you have to do is come up to my office, I'll show them to you.


Léon Balcer: They have not had much success.


Marcel Boivin: On the first page of this booklet, Mr. Speaker, we read:
(Text):



REFUSING TO FACE THE FACTS LOWER TAXES ACCURATE BUDGETING LOWER COST OF LIVING

[Stage Direction]
(Translation):
I do hope that the Minister of Finance (Mr. Fleming) will introduce a well balanced budget, as the Conservative party promised it in this booklet.
In the centre page of the same document, we read:
(Text):
COST OF LIVING NEAR PEAK (Translation):
This, Mr. Speaker, was in 1952, and you know as well as I do that since the Conservative party has taken over the administration of the country, the cost of living has increased again.
However, in all frankness, Mr. Speaker, it seems to me the Conservative party should not have published this booklet entitled Pocket Politics, title which I can only translate in French as "politique de poche".
And now, Mr. Speaker, let us go on to the year 1953, when the gentlemen on the other side of the house were publishing a pamphlet entitled "Pledge for Canada in 16 points". The first point of this booklet reads as follows:
We will lower federal taxes by at least five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) a year.
Under the second item, we see the following:
We will introduce a legislation tending to exempt municipal councils and school commissions from the sales and excise taxes on all their purchases-
And if we go on to the sixth item, we find there something about the Senate reform, which the right hon. Prime Minister promised to effect.
During the same year, Mr. Speaker, the Conservative party published another booklet under the title: "This time we are all voting Progressive Conservative-Why?" Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I hear the applause coming from the hon. members sitting to the right, because they thereby recognize that this booklet has been published by them. I would ask them to remember the promises they made and which are recorded in that booklet:
A TAX REDUCTION . . . but a true reduction, and not those symbolical cuts of the last budget. The Progressive Conservatives have promised to grant larger exemptions to the low income families, a substantial reduction of taxes for the less fortunate groups, a higher take-home pay to those who need it most.
. . . the Progressive Conservatives are going to lower the sales tax . . .
SAVINGS IN ADMINISTRATION ... the only way to reduce taxes is to eliminate extravagance . . .
The Address-Mr. Boivin
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative party has been in power for one year, and-
An hon. Member:: And it shows, too.


Marcel Boivin: -after some careful research, they find that they cannot change anything.
I remember having heard the hon. Minister of National Defence (Mr. Pearkes) and the Postmaster General (Mr. Hamilton) tell us that these two departments were very well administered and that no change had been made.
Mr. Speaker, I have listened to the speech from the throne, and I must say that the promises of the Progressive Conservative party have vanished; happily for us what has been written remains. In a word, none of the promises made in the past appear in the speech from the throne.
The Conservative party had no program during the last electoral campaign but we, Liberals, had a policy based on the principles-


An hon. Member:: A great success.


Marcel Boivin: -of Canadian liberalism
which have so well served our nation under the Laurier, King and St. Laurent administrations. Naturally, that program was different from those proposed and implemented in the past. We were proud of those changes even though our opponents criticized us for not having brought about those measures while we were in power. By criticizing us, they gave us the very proof of their inability to lead a democratic government.
If a new policy was introduced by us, it is because the situation had changed and that it would not have been enough to remodel our 1957 platform.
Two years ago it was a matter of putting a stop to the threat of inflation, so that Canadians would not have to lose their savings. But no sooner had these inflationary pressures been halted than we were once more called upon to stimulate the Canadian economy. A government such as ours-and that must be admitted, Mr. Speaker-has to conform its actions to economic conditions and to the need of the people.
Experience has shown that the Liberal policy was best suited to the needs of the moment and that it did in fact, fill the needs of our nation in general. The Liberal party wanted for J;he Canadian people those measures without which it is impossible to stimulate the economy and to give work to
570	HOUSE OF
The Address-Mr. Boivin hundreds of thousands of jobless. The best way, the quickest way to find work for these people is to deal with unemployment and to increase the buying power of the consumer by reducing taxes.
I have here an article which appeared in a newspaper and according to which Mr. Lush, president of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association, stated last February in Sherbrooke that a tax cut was necessary to remedy unemployment.
1 also have in my hand a statement made by Mr. Charles St. Pierre, president of the Canadian National Bank, suggesting the same thing and that statement appeared in The Monetary Times.
We had proposed to cut taxes to the extent of $400 million to arouse the sleeping Canadian industry. We had told the Canadian people that the 7i per cent tax on automobiles would be abolished, which would have meant a saving of $60 million to the taxpayers while helping the motorists. At the same time we would have favoured a resumption of work in this important automobile industry. Considering that one worker out of seven is directly or indirectly affected by the automobile industry, this would have greatly helped thousands of unemployed people in Canada.
I find it strange that the Conservative has not yet promised us any legislation on social security, agriculture and youth. With regard to social security, it is deplorable that the present government will not introduce a bill to increase family allowances in order to help our large families and our workers who, due to the high cost of living, are in great need of such help. The changes in the support price for powdered milk have certainly resulted in great losses of money for our agricultural class.
Mr. Speaker, I should like now to say a few words about a very important industry in our country, and more particularly in the constituency I have the honour of representing in this house. I refer to the rubber industry, better known under the name of Canada Rubber Footwear Industry. In my riding, two companies are engaged in this industry: the Miner Rubber Company and the Acton Rubber Company. At the moment, all manufacturers of rubber products have great difficulties.
At least 4,500 people do not know whether they will still have their job to-morrow. Taking into account their families, there are 15,000 whose very existence depends on these 4,500. The rubber industry has an invested


capital of $25 million; but it is bound to disappear. However, during the second world war this was admittedly an essential industry. As a matter of fact, the Canadian government helped to supply the raw material it needed to continue the manufacturing of various products needed by our soldiers and civilians.
The import of running shoes has gone up from 2,000 pairs in 1949, to 1,000,000 pairs in 1954 and 2,200,000 pairs in 1955, while Canadian production of this same article decreased from 3,127,222 pairs in 1949 to 1,931,178 pairs in 1955. The import of rubber overshoes increased from 91,000 pairs in 1949 to 624,000 in 1954, whereas Canadian production, which had reached 11,600,000 pairs in 1949 was reduced to 10,000,000 in 1954, and is still decreasing. Well, if we consider the facts, each year that industry was paying $15 million in wages to its employees. But, in 1955, 2,182,000 hours of work were lost because of importation; 1,200 employees were laid off.
In Hong Kong, an employee of the same industry earns 6 cents an hour; in Canada, it is $1.50 an hour. The imported shoe cost $1.48 a pair; but the cost in Canada amounts to $2.90.
It is therefore most important that the hon. ministers of finance and trade and commerce (Messrs. Fleming and Churchill) look into that matter and come to a decision with regard to the importation of those Hong Kong products. If such importation is not stopped, this essential industry is going to disappear in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I renew my request for the adoption of a distinctive Canadian flag. I wish we could have one in the near future. I also wish to draw your attention to the appointment of the next governor general. I hope that he will be of Canadian origin.
The Prime Minister, accompanied by the Secretary of State for External Affairs (Mr. Smith), received last week a delegation of students. Let us hope that a bill will be introduced to help them.
The Conservative party should bring about a legislation beneficial to all the citizens, to all the taxpayers, to all parents and all young men and women who wish to bring a constant contribution to a free democratic society.
In concluding, Mr. Speaker, I wish to say that in my opinion this government cannot bring the ship of state to safety. That is why, four years from now, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Pearson) will become

prime minister of Canada and will continue to carry out the program based on the principles of Canadian liberalism which have so well served our nation under the Laurier, King and St. Laurent administrations.
(Text):


Mr. Lucien Grenier (Bonaventure):: Mr. Speaker, the debate on the address in reply to the speech from the throne now being in its eighth day, I believe the repertoire of congratulatory words is almost exhausted, but I wish to say that I heartily endorse the unanimous testimonial of appraisal and esteem which your impartiality and firmness has inspired in all hon. members of this house.
This being the last time I stand to speak in this house for the first time I beg your indulgence and I hope that my sins against the rules of the house will not be too numerous or too outstanding.
I wish also to extend my sincere congratulations and best wishes to the hon. member for Longueuil (Mr. Sevigny) on his appointment to the office of Deputy Speaker of this house. I am convinced that his achievements in this office will prove him to be the worthy son of a very distinguished father.
Although the mover of the address in reply to the speech from the throne already knows how proud I was of his achievement I wish to say here that it was also an honour for the 1949 graduates of the faculty of law of Laval University, where together we endeavoured to learn the basic principles of law. The young hon. member for Yukon (Mr. Nielsen) has also contributed to prove that the youth of Canada, widely represented here, constitutes a valuable asset in this house.
Since the opening of this session I have listened with great interest to all the debates and especially the debate on the address in reply to the speech from the throne which is almost a complete picture of the economic conditions prevailing in every region of this wide country. This debate also contains various comments on the great event of March 31. Some have revealed a very high degree of sportsmanship, and others revealed bitterness and a lack of respect for the verdict of the people. It is highly regrettable that in my first speech in this house I must comment on misrepresentations which have been made in this chamber by certain hon. members from the province of Quebec in connection with the last election.
I was disturbed and also hurt to hear the argument put forward by some hon. members from the province of Quebec in order to explain the presence in this house of 50 Conservative members from that province and
The Address-Mr. Grenier at the same time in order to hide their deep deception and failure to keep the confidence of the people of my province. Instead of accepting the verdict of the electors of the province of Quebec as an expression of disapproval of the campaign of prejudice which was carried on in that province in the last election by our hon. friends they have tried to explain their defeat with arguments like the following one which is reported at page 179 of the debates of this house:
I would have liked to congratulate In a particular way all the members, especially those of the province of Quebec, but I must make some reservations since there are members from the province of Quebec who have been elected not by the popular vote but according to an electoral method which we call the corrupted practice of vote buying.
These comments were made by the hon. member for Drummond-Arthabaska (Mr. Boulanger) and many other similar comments have also been made by other hon. members of the Liberal party from the province of Quebec.
It is my duty to protest vigorously against such a misrepresentation of facts because I believe the citizens of the province of Quebec are highly conscious of the sacred value of their voting right and are too honest to trade it for election day presents. My hon. friends seem to forget that until this year the people of that province had been giving unanimous support to the Liberal party and I believe they have chosen a very regrettable, unsuitable and shameful way to show the people of the province of Quebec their gratitude for their faithful support in past years. I wish to say that the electors of my province who voted for the Liberal party in 1957 and in the years before are still the same as they were then and they do not deserve to be insulted as they have been in this debate by too many Liberal members from the province of Quebec who now stand in this house as the shadow of the past glory and power of the Liberal party.
(Translation):
Mr. Speaker, I will now put before the house the problems which are of particular interest to the electors of the constituency who have given me the mandate of representing them in this house. I believe it is my duty to make certain comments which I would well have preferred not to have to voice, believe me.
I have followed with very close attention the debates which have been going on since the opening of the session and more particularly the debate on the address in reply to the speech from the throne. These have given, to my mind, a very complete picture of the
572	HOUSE OF
The Address-Mr. Grenier economic conditions prevailing in all parts of this country. It goes without saying that in this picture may be found a number of brush strokes inspired by political considerations which the Canadian people refused to endorse on March 31 last.
The events of that day, unprecedented in our political annals, have called forth highly deserved praise for the Prime Minister from all members sitting in this house and I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to add my voice to theirs.
This event also gave rise to some comments. Some found new greatness in defeat and I mean to congratulate them. Others unfortunately revealed themselves very sore losers and showed lack of respect for the will of the people. It is highly unfortunate that I should have to reserve part of my first speech in this house to objecting against some disgraceful speeches, to say the least, made in this debate on the address in reply to the speech from the throne, by some hon. members from the province of Quebec.
You may be sure that I was indignant as well as disappointed at hearing the arguments used by those members to explain the presence in this house of fifty Conservative members from the province of Quebec and in trying at the same time to conceal their disappointment for lamentably failing in the mission which was theirs to keep the support of my province for the Liberal party. Instead of bowing to the verdict of the Quebec electors, which is indeed categorical enough, instead of admitting their inability to keep them in the fold of the Liberal doctrine, instead of opening their eyes and seeing in their action the unequivocal reprobation of the campaign of prejudice and disparagement pursued throughout the province of Quebec by my hon. friends in the last election, they have attempted, very wrongly indeed, to attribute their lamentable failure to electoral corruption.
I should like here to refer in particular to the statement made by the hon. member for Drummond-Arthabaska (Mr. Boulanger), as recorded on page 179 of Hansard, and I quote:
I would have liked to congratulate in a particular way all the members, especially those of the province of Quebec, but I must make some reservations since there are members from the province of Quebec who have been elected not by the popular vote but according to an electoral method which we call the corrupted practice of vote buying.


Mr. Deschaielels:: That is true.


Lucien Grenier: Several other members-my hon. friend should not forget that the purchasing of votes from electors also entails the sale of votes and, as I said a moment ago,


the electors of the province of Quebec are too honest and are too conscious of their responsibilities to sell their votes.
Several other Liberal members elected in Quebec ridings resorted to similar arguments and, particularly, the hon. member for Richelieu-Vercheres (Mr. Cardin), whose words are reported on pages 356 and 7 (translations) of the official record, and I quote:
Among the Conservative members from the province of Quebec here present there are many who bear the mark of the Union Nationale party, with everything which that entails.


Jean-Paul Deschatelets: That is so. It is true. It is unfortunate, but true.


Lucien Grenier: The about-face on the part of several colleagues of hon. members on March 31 last is about the only explanation I find for the remarks made by my hon. friend, and I want to tell him that all Conservative members from the province of Quebec in this house prefer to follow those who are standing upright than those for whom the abdication of provincial rights is a secondary matter.
The hon. members for St. Denis (Mr. Denis) and Hull (Mr. Caron) also resorted to arguments as unconvincing as those of the hon. member for Drummond-Arthabaska, in an effort to belittle the merit of the Prime Minister and of the fifty Conservative representatives from the province of Quebec.
As I said a few moments ago, I have been shocked by the arguments of those hon. members who apparently made up their mind to unite their efforts to show such poor gratitude to the electors of the province of Quebec, who had so faithfully and for so long, supported the Liberal party. When the hon. members contend that the Conservative members from the province of Quebec have been elected either through corruption or vote buying, they are saying that the electors of the province of Quebec who have elected them have sold their right to vote and have lost all sense of honesty and responsibility.


Mr. Leduc:: And it is true, besides.


J.-H.-Théogène Ricard: Why did you not contest the election?


Mr. Habel:: We were prevented by Mr. Duplessis.


Lucien Grenier: I submit, Mr. Speaker, that such ill-founded assertions constitute the most humiliating insult which can be directed to the electors of the province of Quebec, and, at the same time, the most disastrous propaganda for our province.

I wish to put into the record of this house my most vigorous protest and to reassert that, on the contrary, the population of the province of Quebec has a deep respect for our parliamentary institutions and an unfailing sense of the high importance of its franchise. Indeed, that population, until this year, has given the party of my hon. friends the strongest representation in this house.
Considering the success achieved by the Conservative party in all the other provinces of Canada, I would have preferred however that my hon. friends explain to the house why, in their opinion, the province of Quebec should not have elected so many Conservatives. These members, Mr. Speaker, have received a mandate from a population which has recognized in the right hon. Prime Minister a statesman anxious to respect the rights guaranteed to the provinces by the British North America Act of 1867.


An hon. Member:: That remains to be seen!


Lucien Grenier: May I be allowed now to deal briefly with the particular problems involving my constituency. Since the opening day of the session I have heard members from almost every part of this country invite their colleagues to visit their respective constituencies to admire the landscape which, I am sure, is not without its charm. My own happens to be in the Gaspe peninsula which is visited by Canadian and American tourists whose numbers increase from year to year. The coastal area of that constituency is bounded by the bay of Chaleur, which was so named by Jacques Cartier himself who reached that large body of water in 1534 on a day on which, apparently, the heat was excessive. We may say of this area that nowhere else in this country, and possibly nowhere else in the world, may be found such a variety of landscape. The forest, mountain and sea have joined there to please the visitors' eyes.
I could not find more adequate words to describe the beauty of this area than those of Blanche Lamontagne-Beauregard:
"There is no country, no place in the world, with a purer breeze, with greater beauty."
However, this area could not have been so generously endowed by the Creator without its population feeling some inconvenience. The Gaspe peninsula, situated at the extreme east of Canada, presents practically the same characteristics as the Atlantic provinces. These provinces have been the object of detailed
The Address-Mr. Grenier studies by the Royal Commission on the Economic Prospects of Canada and 1 believe that the findings of the Commission's report on the Atlantic provinces could apply to my constituency and to the Gaspe peninsula.
Up to now, the geographical situation of the Gaspe peninsula prevented it to a certain extent from sharing in the development of the national economy and still prevents it from participating in the economic expansion contemplated by the Gordon Commission. Figures on the average personal income there as in the maritime provinces show a wide gap compared with the income of people in other parts of this country. The major part of our population is engaged in agriculture, but does fishing and wood cutting as a sideline, and may be classified with rural families where discrepancies in average income are the greatest.
Although the standard of living of the people of my riding cannot be compared to that of other Canadians elsewhere in Canada, it would have been still lower if the present government of our province had not cast a particular glance toward Gaspesia. It remains however, that Gaspesia and my constituency cannot exclusively depend on the provincial authorities to ensure their economic expansion. Over there, as in the maritime provinces, commercial investments per capita and per member of active population have been lower than average throughout Canada.
The report of the Royal commission on Canada's economic prospects, page 404, very exactly indicates what is the objective of the economic program capable of raising the standard of living of our population.
An objective of economic policy should be to integrate and improve the basic economic framework of the Atlantic region, including in particular the transportation facilities of the area with a view to facilitating and encouraging economic growth within the region.
What is needed we believe is a bold, comprehensive and co-ordinated approach to the underlying problems of the region in order to make the best possible use of the resources of the area and to improve transportation and other basic services.
There also, as in the Atlantic provinces, the predominance of agriculture, of hunting, fishing and lumbering on a scale hardly sufficient to ensure a living would lead one to believe that much of the land is inadequately farmed in our district. Now, I ask this government and more particularly the Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Harkness), to consider more especially the possibility of improving the lot of the farmer in my riding.

The Address-Mr. Grenier
There is now in Bonaventure a federal experimental farm which renders valuable services, and I believe that it would be proper to establish additional ones. I also feel that it would be proper to make special grants for the building of cold storage plants for vegetables. Our farmers produce vegetables that they have to sell at ridiculous prices at the time of the harvest or immediately after, because they have no storage facilities, while during the rest of the year, the consumers of that district pay fancy prices for vegetables which come from other parts of the country.
I must also draw the attention of the Minister of Agriculture to the fact that the lands of my constituency need a very large quantity of fertilizer to give good results, and I think that special grants could be made towards the transport of fertilizers. I understand very well that it is not a problem of national importance but it remains that the farmers of my area have an unquestionable right to government assistance in the face of the unusual difficulties created by the particular conditions existing in the district where they live.
I wish here to congratulate the Minister of Justice (Mr. Fulton) on his initiative in instituting a commission to study the matter of combines in the paper industry and, together with my colleague from Bellechasse (Mr. Dorion), I contend that problems cannot be solved by punitive measures. It would be wise also, in my opinion, to classify the wood cut on the farm as an agricultural product, so that it may benefit from a support price.
We have also, in Bonaventure, a large number of fishermen, and it would be advisable if the products of the sea were to benefit from a support price. In this way we would do away with the uncertainty now prevailing with regard to prices at the beginning of each fishing season.
Finally, I would ask the present government to invest considerable sums of money in basic public services in order to encourage the development of the resources of the area.
Knowing the kind feelings which the Prime Minister and his government entertain towards those parts of our country which were too long neglected, I am assured that the people of Bonaventure can expect better days ahead.


Mr. Cardin:: Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the hon. member for Bonaventure would allow a question?


Lucien Grenier: Certainly.


Louis-Joseph-Lucien Cardin: I did not want to interrupt the hon. member while he was making his speech. I would like to know if the hon. member for Bonaventure denies the allegations and accusations made by Fathers O'Neil and Dion to the effect that election practices in the province of Quebec are completely immoral.


Lucien Grenier: My hon. friend should know that I did not refer to the allegations or statements of Fathers O'Neil and Dion. I referred to statements made by hon. members of the opposition. At the same time, I would ask by what method-
(Text):


Mr. J. R. Garland (Nipissing):: May I
through you, sir, convey to Mr. Speaker my congratulations on his reappointment to that high office. To those of us who have had the privilege of knowing Mr. Speaker it seems almost unnecessary to say that he will carry out his duties with dignity, intelligence and understanding. Through the long history of parliament the office of Speaker has earned a special place, and I am sure this high office will be further enriched by his occupancy of it. May I also offer my congratulations to the mover (Mr. Lafreniere) and the seconder (Mr. Nielsen) of the address in reply to the speech from the throne.
Participation in this debate gives me the opportunity to express my appreciation of having the privilege of representing the district of Nipissing in this twenty-fourth parliament. This is my fourth consecutive term, thanks to the support I have received from all sections of our district, and I am deeply grateful for this support.
Perhaps I might be permitted a word concerning the change in the political atmosphere in Canada during the past year. It is a little more than a year ago that we left Ottawa after the dissolution of the twenty-second parliament. I recall the thinking of many hon. members on all sides of the house at that time. Many wondered what could be done to help the Conservative party. Many felt that it was headed for further reverses at the federal level.
Many feared that the Social Credit group would take over from the Conservatives as the official opposition. The Social Credit organization seemed unbeatable in Alberta and British Columbia. They felt they would sweep Saskatchewan. You will recall that the premiers of British Columbia and Alberta were booked into a great rally in Massey Hall in Toronto. This was to be the opening gun in a giant crusade to make substantial inroads in central Canada. Now, only a year later,

the Social Credit movement has been completely wiped out as a national party, and the Conservative party, which was in such a hopeless situation little more than a year ago, is today more firmly entrenched in office than at any time since confederation.
In so far as the Liberal party's fortunes during this same period are concerned, I think we can see here the best example in Canadian history of what can happen to a government doing a good job. In fact, they were doing such a good job that they became completely absorbed in administration and, with the possible exception of two or three ministers, they forgot their public relations. In other words, they forgot to have their pictures taken; they neglected to tell the people of the good job they were doing.


Some hon. Members:: Oh, oh.


John Richard Garland: Mr. Speaker, these interruptions cause me to say this. If the actions of the present government in the field of publicity are to be taken as any criterion, then it can be said that the Conservative government has no intention of repeating the political oversights in this regard made by the former Liberal administration.
I am not complaining, I am merely recognizing facts. While the Liberals were absorbed in the sound administration of Canadian affairs the Conservative party strategists embarked on a hard-selling campaign based on a series of extravagant promises coupled with a cleverly exploited emotional appeal to the voters. Promises, promises, promises; promises to suit every occasion; promises to suit every audience. These promises were delivered with all the fire and emotion of a man with a mission, a man with a date with destiny. The conduct of our national affairs took on a strange new look. Please do not misunderstand me, Mr. Speaker. I congratulate the new leader of the Conservative party, as he then was, and his campaign managers. This type of campaign, new and foreign as it was to our admittedly dull Canadian election campaigns, caught on. It did the trick, and I am sure the Prime Minister (Mr. Diefenbaker) must look back on that first campaign with a great degree of personal satisfaction because it was a tremendous personal victory. He was able to reach the hearts of many Canadians with his eloquence and fervour. His was an emotional appeal that captured the imagination of many who met or saw him.
But time passed, and now the scene changes. The promised looked to the promisors. The responsibility of government changed hands as the victory shouts died away. Here, now, was that date with destiny fulfilled. Here, for
The Address-Mr. Garland the first time in over 20 years, was the opportunity to implement the policies that would bring to Canadians this brave, new way of life. Here was the opportunity to hand back to the Canadian people $500 million, and at the same time increase the benefits but not cut essential services. Here was the opportunity to return parliament to the people-I think that was the catch-phrase used most often. Canadians were truly aroused. Things were going to be different now.
One can readily understand the enthusiasm of the new Minister of Finance (Mr. Fleming) when he announced at his press conference early last summer-before he had had his knuckles rapped-that the new government would bring down a budget immediately which would provide the fulfilment of his party's election promises. I need hardly remind you, Mr. Speaker, that almost a year has passed but we have still not had a budget. Naturally, Canadians waited with keen anticipation the opening of the twenty-third parliament. What a shock was in store for those who had waited so patiently and so long. The throne speech really contained nothing but what I shall choose to call a Liberal dividend, a dividend made possible only as a result of good, sound administration by the previous Liberal government. The twenty-third parliament was dissolved as soon as it had fulfilled its usefulness to its new masters, and the previous election campaign was continued. This time it was continued with more confidence and more support and, of course, with more success.


Some hon. Members:: Oh, oh.


John Richard Garland: I thought that last remark would receive support. This high pressure type of campaign in parliament and on the hustings, apart from the political success it brought to the Conservative party, has aroused a new interest in Canadian politics generally. I have said on other occasions that it has taken politics off the back pages of Canadian newspapers and put them on page one. I believe this new interest in political matters will prove to be a good thing for Canada in the future.
May I call it ten o'clock, Mr. Speaker?



BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

John Whitney Pickersgill: May I ask the house leader what the business will be for tomorrow?


Mr. Green:: Tomorrow, we shall continue with this debate, and under the rules there will be a vote late in the afternoon.


[Stage Direction]
At ten o'clock the house adjourned, without question put, pursuant to standing order.
[Stage Direction]
Wednesday, May 28, 1958