Hon. Jean Marchand (Minister of Transport):

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman is right. We have designed a third terminal for Toronto in order to give better service. However, the real problem is not terminals, but runways and noise. The province of Ontario and the federal government at that time-and I think it was a common friend who was there-promised there would be no other runway at Malton. There is no doubt that with the increase in traffic, the level of noise is going to be much higher. It will not only disturb a few thousand persons, but tens of thousands of persons.

Mr. Hees:

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary question for the minister with whom I practically always agree. Will the minister look into the studies on this matter to see if it is not true that because of the fact jet aircraft take far less runway room than previously, take off more quickly, land more quickly thereby using the runways far less that the problem is not in the provision of additional runways, but the provision of additional terminal space to handle additional passengers and baggage?

Mr. Marchand (Langelier):

Mr. Speaker, I know it is not the intention of the hon. member to enter into a technical discussion at this stage. As far as noise is concerned, we have to take two things into account, the noise of the engine when the aircraft takes off and lands and the

Oral Questions

number of movements of aircraft. If there are only two aircraft daily which take off and land, it does not mean much. However, if there are 1,000 or 2,000, it is quite different. Therefore, those two elements must be taken into account. It is correct that new aircraft such as the 747 produce much less noise than the old DC-8 and require a shorter runway. I agree with that. However, that means, taking into account the increase in traffic, if we have-

Mr. Speaker:

Order, please. I think the minister was right when he said this was probably not the place to get into a technical discussion.

Mr. Bruce Halliday (Oxford):

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Manpower and Immigration. In view of the concern regarding the availability of offshore and Mexican labour for the current year and future years, a concern which has been expressed by farmers engaged in the production and harvesting of crops such as tobacco, tomatoes, small fruits and sugar beets, and in view of our understanding that the minister met recently with high commissioners and other representatives from several Caribbean nations, is the minister in a position to report to the House regarding the availability of satisfactory seasonal labour for these farmers?

Hon. Robert K. Andras (Minister of Manpower and Immigration):

Yes, Mr. Speaker. There were some totally unfounded rumours that this program would be interrupted, changed or even cancelled. I assure the House they were totally unfounded. They did not emanate from any official source. I met with the high commissioners as recently as noon today. The meeting was designed to simply provide for discussion of the recent refinements and improvements in the details of the program by which these migrant workers enter and work in this country.

Mr. F. Oberle (Prince George-Peace River):

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. It is supplementary to those asked earlier by my colleagues. Does the minister consider that with the involvement of the federal government in the Syncrude project and his announcement last week with regard to energy conservation that all the interests of Canadians are being served at this point with respect to energy conservation and self-sufficiency or can we expect the Canadian government to follow the lead of other nations in announcing an ambitious program to look into other sources of energy?

February 10, 1975

Income Tax

Hon. Donald S. Macdonald (Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources):

Mr. Speaker, we have completed an assessment at least of the research work that has been done at the federal level with regard to alternative sources of energy. I hope at an appropriate time to be able to announce the details of that. Basically, going back to the energy policy phase one statement, the indication from that analysis is-all present major sources of energy are either potentially or actually in plentiful supply in this country. What is involved in planning programs and transportation is to make certain they will be available for Canadians in the future.

Mr. Oberle:

Will the minister advise whether the officials are aware that 40 per cent of the fossil reserve in Canada is in the form of coal and even with present prices, coal conversion is attractive. The technology is available. Will the minister advise whether his officials are pursuing that aspect?

Mr. Macdonald (Rosedale):

Mr. Speaker, coal gasification in particular is something that has been studied within the government of Canada.

Mr. Speaker:

The Minister of State (Fisheries) indicated to me that before the end of the question period he wants to qualify an answer he gave to the hon. member for Humber-St. George's-St. Barbe. One word may have been missing from the answer.

Mr. LeBlanc (Westmorland-Kent):

Mr. Speaker, in answering a very important question about assistance to the groundfish industry, I may have left out a very important part. I may have left the impression that the inshore fisheries for groundfish were not included. They are included in this program.

Mr. Speaker:

Orders of the day.

Mr. Sinclair Stevens (York-Simcoe):

Mr. Speaker, I wish to add a few words to what I have already said with regard to Bill C-49, with particular reference to the reasoned amendment now before the House which was put by my colleague the hon. member for Northumberland-Dur-ham (Mr. Lawrence). This amendment highlights one of the most important positions that the official opposition is taking concerning the budgetary measures proposed by the Minister of Finance (Mr. Turner). We believe that the

people of Canada are entitled to a further tax reduction of 5 per cent.

Hear, hear!