Mr. COCHRANE:

Yes.

Mr. OLIVER:

Will the lifting of the'

rails on the east end of the road interfere in any degree with traffic facilities?

Mr. COCHRANE:

If I remember aright,

I informed the hon. member that we replaced the sidings with second-hand rails.. Of course, the facilities are not as satisfactory as they were ibefpre, because we bad so much room not only at the sidings but at divisional points. The traffic is somewhat impeded, but we hope to overcome that as soon as the war is over.

Mr. MACDONALD:

Has the minister

settled all the claims in connection with the construction of the railway?

Mr. COCHRANE:

No. There are still

some at Winnipeg and some in Quebec, and, I think, at one or two other places. It seems almost impossible to get them settled. Some people do not want to go into the Exchequer Court, and I do not want to pay the big prices they are asking. [DOT] The case of Mackenzie and Mann at Winnipeg went into the Exchequer Court, and then it was appealed. It has not yet been decided whether they will take it to the Privy Council or not. The claim is for quite an amount.

Mr. MACDONALD:

A number of claims have not gone to court for adjudication?

Mr. COCHRANE:

A number have not.

Outside of Mackenzie and Mann's claim, the others are all small.

Mr. MACDONALD:

Mackenzie and

Mann's claim would be in regard to terminals, not construction.

Mr. COCHRANE:

For right of way and terminals also.

Mr. MACDONALD:

The minister is asking for an appropriation for claims for right

of way of $500,000. Will that amount pay all the claims for the right of way?

Mr. -COCHRANE: I hope so, but I am

mot sure. As I say, there has been great ^difficulty in getting proper .settlement with the claimants. As my hon. friend knows, if any person has a claim against the Government he wants to salt it.. I want to do what is fair and right, and I hope this amount will cover all the claims.

Mr. OLIVER:

Did I understand the minister to say that the lifting of the rails would not interfere with traffic?

Mr. COCHRANE:

Not on the Transcontinental.

Mr. OLIVER:

That is what I mean. Perhaps the minister has available the information in regard to the lifting of the rails west of Edmonton. I notice in the Edmonton papers that some of the Edmonton -settlers who are on the Canadian Northern, the rails of which have been lifted to be transferred to the Grand Trunk, -are making very serious complaints. Have those complaints, reached the minister?

Mr. COCHRANE:

Some of them have

and we -are -investigating the olai-m of each settler to see whit crop he has and what the damage to him will be. In some oases we .are offering, if necessary, to take them out and put them in -some other place.

Mr. OLIVER:

The department is prepared to pay damages to these people.

Mr. COCHRANE:

Yes, we shall have to do w-hat is right with them in every ease.

Mr. MA-CDONALD: Where does the minister get the recompenses for the rails and for the dam-ages? Do they -form part of the war expenditure, o-r are they paid by the Imperial Government?

Mir. COOHRANE:

By the Imperial Government.

M-r. OLIVER: In the statement I saw in the newspapers there are some small timber limits which were operated by small local mills and which are affected by the moving of the track.

Mr. COCHRANE:

There is one.

Mt. OLIVER:

The timber will be taken into consideration also.

M-r. COCHRANE: Yes.

Mr. OLIVER:

These people are my

constituents, and I feel somewhat strongly

in regard to their situation. They are pioneers. Their improvements, of course, are not very valuable from a money point of vderw, but they are all these people have, and they have been made in the expectation of railroad facilities. Although the distance between the track that has been lifted and the track that remains is in some cases short in miles, I want to impress on the minister that in the greater part of the country affected there is a very great deal of 'muskeg, and in many cases the building of a number of miles of road is involved in order that the settler may travel from the point he expected to reach on the old track to the point he is to reach on the new track. What I desire to impress on the minister is that the map does not tell the story of the difficulty that has been placed upon the settler by the lifting of the track. There should be taken into consideration not only the distance, but the actual difficulty of traversing that distance or of getting a permanent and suitable way of traversing it. The provincial government will ultimately provide the road, but they have a great many roads to provide, and they can hardly be expected to provide for the expenditure on this road which the people need, and need so suddenly by reason of the action of the Government. 1 hope that in dealing with this matter the Government will treat these people generously, having regard to their pioneer conditions, the enterprise that took them there, and the actual difficulties that face them as a result of the moving of the track