991
COMMONS
[...]tics and a supplementary vote of $10,000 for
general statistics.
Mr. TAYLOR. If my hon. friend (Mr. Fisher) will refer to
the estimates now before us, on page 32 he will find the figures
I refer to.
Mr. FISHER. Perhaps the second vote I referred to may have
been $15,000 instead of $10,000 as I suggested ; that would make the
$18,200.
Mr. TAYLOR. And you are asking the same amount this year.
I want to know how that money is expended.
Mr. FISHER. I shall be glad to give the information up to
the present time. That vote has been expended on statistical work, part
of it, the usual statistical work always carried on in the department every
year and part of it special statistical work, that is work drawn from the
compilation of the census, and it has been found that a portion of that
latter work has been of sufficient value to be included probably in the
final reports or volumes of the census. The consequence is that I might almost
say that a portion of it has been devoted to such work as is contemplated
in this Bill, that I have now before the House, between the decennial
census. It is largely the kind of work, although not all of the kind of
work that the Bill contemplates and which I would like to see taken up and
continued by the officers of the department between the decennial census years and
the work which was necessary after our
decennial census year on the compilations of the census of
that year. I can give my hon. friend (Mr. Taylor) the expenditure which
has been made with regard to the individuals employed &c., if he
desires it.
Mr. MONK. As this is a somewhat important
measure, I would like the minister to give us an outline of what the
expenditure contemplates in connection with this new office in the
immediate future and what work would be performed by the officers of this
new department for the first few years ?
Mr. FISHER. I would say to my hon. friend when discussing
this Bill a few days ago in committee, before the financial resolution
was before the House, the question was asked of me as to the probable
expenditure involved in the proposed legislation. I then said
that I thought it would be about $20,000 more per annum. practically immediately,
than we are now spending on statistical work in
the department. I have since been' going carefully over what I would like
to do under this Bill, and I think that the amount which I then indicated
is quite sufficient to accomplish all that I contemplate or expect to do for
several years to come with the possible exception of some expenditure in
connection with printing which I did not take fully into
992 account when I made that estimate. I do not know yet that the printing
would require more money than the amount I stated, but I want
to be entirely frank with the house and do not wish in any way to say
anything which I am not quite sure is within the mark. I therefore
thought that I ought now to say that if we are to undertake to publish
monthly bulletins or to publish every year a very large amount of statistical
information that we gather, in extended form, it might be
that the printing bill would be larger than I at first thought.
An extra thousand or two of dollars
might therefore be required from year to
year for printing. I wanted to give this
explanation of the financial side of the case
so that there would not be any suspicion
that I was minimizing or misrepresenting
it.
My hon. friend from Jacques Cartier has
asked me to give an outline of what is
proposed. We have had under the law a
general census every ten years, and a census of Manitoba taken in the mid-year between
the regular decennial censuses. In
1885 or 1886 we had a census of the Northwest Territories taken on the same bas1s
as the census of Manitoba; but since that
time there has been no special census taken
of the Northwest Territories. Under this
Act I propose to continue to take every
ten years a census of the whole Dominion
of Canada, and to take in the mid-year between the regular census years, a census
of Manitoba, and, if this parliament at the
present session should create two new provinces in the Northwest Territories, or any
provinces, to take a census of them in the
same way that the census of Manitoba
is taken. The Manitoba census is taken
by virtue of a provision in the Subsidy
Act. Nobody can say to-day what may
be decided in regard to a new province
or new provinces in the Northwest Territories. But whatever is decided in regard
to subsidies for those new provinces, I think
it is well that this Act should provide for
the censuses to be taken in the province of
Manitoba and iii the new provinces to be
formed in the Territories. The figures
which I have given do not include any expenditure which may be necessary in connection
with those censuses. Those figures
indicate what I expect the annual expenditure to be, in addition to which special
provision will have to be made for the taking
of the decennial census and for the taking
of the census of Manitoba and the other
northwest provinces. As I have said, I believe the value of this work will be very
great; and, as the work will grow, it may
be that a few years from now the minister
will have to come down and ask for a larger vote on this account; but, so far as our
expectations or intentions go at the present time, the money I have spoken of will.
I think, cover the necessary expenditure for
several years to come.
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