Mr. W. M. Buchanan (Cape Breton North and Victoria):

I should like to direct a question to the Minister of Transport. I wish to inquire as to when the new ferry to run between North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland, will commence its scheduled run?

Mr. L. Langlois (Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transport):

I received no previous notice of this question. As my hon. friend knows, this ship is being built at the present time, and I will ascertain the date when it is due to commence its scheduled sailings and report to the house later.

Mr. F. G. J. Hahn (New Westminster):

Would the Minister of National Revenue consider moving the seasonal duty date on United States potatoes forward from June 15 to June 1, with the present six-week protective period still to apply, and so give the early potato growers protection by having the markets cleared of the vast quantities of United States potatoes that get to our market by beating the present tariff date deadline?

Hon. J. J. McCann (Minister of National Revenue):

I thank the hon. member for having given me notice of this question. The answer is that this date cannot be changed because it is in the statute and is item 83 of the Customs Tariff. It is bound by GATT and could only be changed by international agreement and by subsequent amendment to the statute.

Mr. R. E. Reinke (Hamilton Soulh):

I should like to direct a question to the Minister of Public Works. Can the minister say whether the federal government has decided to share with the Ontario government the cost of the proposed highway bridge over the Burlington canal? If so, can he say what the total cost will be and to what extent the federal government will participate?

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Hon. Robert H. Winters (Minister of Public Works):

Mr. Speaker, the Ontario government has not yet submitted detailed plans or estimates of cost. We have, however, been told that on the basis of preliminary estimates the proposed high level bridge will cost approximately $13,300,000.

This problem is primarily one of facilitating highway traffic, but since the canal over which the bridge is to be built is a federal structure we have informed the Ontario government we are prepared to participate up to one-third of the cost of the bridge, on the understanding that Ontario will assume full responsibility for highway traffic over the canal, thereby enabling the federal government, in the interests of navigation, to remove the low level bridge it maintains at the present time.

Mr. W. M. Howe (Wellinglon-Huron):

I

should like to direct a question to the Minister of Transport or in his absence to his parliamentary assistant. Is he in a position to make a statement concerning the rumoured intention of the Canadian National Railways, as published in the press, to make changes in the Palmerston-Southampton branch line, and if so what are these changes?

Mr. L. Langlois (Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transport):

In the absence

of the minister on official business, may I say that I received a copy of this question shortly before the lunch hour. I have been unable to obtain the necessary information from the management of the railway company, so I am taking this question as notice.

The Chairman:

When the committee rose

yesterday we were discussing clause 372.

On clause 372-Destruction or damage.

Mr. Maclnnis:

I should like to say a few words in connection with this clause. I listened rather attentively to the hon. member for Kamloops when he spoke on this clause just before the adjournment yesterday afternoon. In his criticism of this clause

the hon. member made approximately the same criticism as was made by the delegation from the Canadian Congress of Labour in the brief they submitted to the parliamentary committee at the last session.

The Chairman:

Order. The hon. member

for Vancouver-Kingsway has a very fine voice, but he cannot possibly compete with all the other members of the committee. I must ask other members to maintain silence while the hon. member is speaking.

Mr. Maclnnis:

I thank you for those kind words. I have often heard my voice described as loud, but never before as fine. I am not suggesting the hon. member for Kamloops is not capable of making his own analysis, but I was interested to note how closely it paralleled some of the criticisms made by the Canadian Congress of Labour.