4373 [MAY 2, 1890.] 4374
[...]would be brought within the purview of the disabling provisions provided for
by this section.
Mr. COLBY. I wish hon. members, especially
those from the Maritime Provinces, and particularly
the ex-Minister of this Department, to understand
that their opinions have, as they are entitled to
have, great weight in this matter. We desire to
make what progress we can, and I would be glad
to have the clauses pass this stage, with the understanding that we will leave the
Bill still in Committee, if they so desire.
Mr. MITCHELL. That is reasonable, and I am
satisfied that, when the Council reconsider the
arguments
pro and
con, they will make the change
desired.
Mr. DAVIES (P.E.I.) The examination on
which a certificate is granted is not simply in regard
to technical knowledge, but also as to habits of life
and character.
Mr. DAVIN. As a supporter of the Government, I am very glad to hear that the hon. gentleman
intends to have this reconsidered, because I
was trying to find some reason for defending the
clause as it stood, but it seems to me contrary to
true business principles.
Progress reported.
(In the Committee.)
0n section 86,
Mr. FOSTER. The only change in this clause
is that "fifteen" is put in place of "twenty" in
the fourth line.
Mr. KIRKPATRICK. I would suggest that
the number of days for the banks to make their
returns should be left twenty as it was before.
The law has worked satisfactorily and there is no
reason for changing it. If anything caused a delay
of a day or two, the bank would be subject to a
heavy penalty.
Mr. FOSTER. The only reason for making it
twenty days was in regard to British Columbia
before the railway was opened, and that has ceased
to be a reason. Practically the banks can put in
their returns within ten days from the furthest
parts of the country, and fifteen days are quite
sufficient.
Mr. DAVIES (P.E.I.) Must the return be in
the Finance Minister's Department before the expiration of the fifteen days?
Mr. DAVIES (P.E.I.) There might be some
difficulty in getting the returns in from Prince
Edward Island, when the steamboat is unable to
run on account of the ice. Sometimes it takes
eight or ten days to get a letter. If it is simply
that the returns are to be dispatched within that
time, it is another thing.
Mr. KIRKPATRICK. The clause says that
the returns are to be made and sent in within that
time. That must mean, that they are to be received by the Finance Minister.
Mr. TISDALE. If a bank has twenty or thirty
agencies, it practically evades the law, because it is
given to commence the returns sooner than it ought
in order to send the report in promptly. If banks
are established, as I hope they will be, in the mining regions in the North-West Territories,
where
they will not be able to send returns with the
promptness they do now, there will be considerable
difficulty, and very heavy penalties are imposed
for a violation of the statute.
On section 89,
Mr. FOSTER. With reference to this clause
and the sub-sections contained in it, I have a word
to say which will, to some extent, modify what I
stated upon the introduction of the Bill, and upon
its second reading. There were two things included
in section 89. The first part of the section, and a
vital part, was that which provided for publicity
being given to unclaimed dividends and balances
in the bank. The second part was to provide that
these unclaimed dividends and balances, or
deposits, should, after a certain time, revert to
the Government and be held by them for the
public uses of the country. It will be remembered
that I stated that we proposed to hold by this
clause in its essence, but I foreshadowed at the
time that certain amendments might be made.
The change which I propose to ask the Committee
to make in that is this: That we shall hold by the
principle embodied in the first part of this
section, and that we shall give up to a very
large degree the principle that we contended
for in the second part. With regard to the
unclaimed dividends and balances in the hands
of the bank after a certain period returns shall
be made of them to the Minister of Finance
and Receiver General; but these balances shall
remain in the hands of the banks with the publicity given by the return enabling those
who
have a right to claim them to know that they are
there, and to proceed to claim them and make
what disposition they please with regard to them,
saving that, with reference to banks which become
insolvent, I shall have a clause to submit to the
Committee which will provide that unclaimed
dividends and balances in these respects shall revert to the Government.
Mr. FOSTER. For the very same purposes as we
proposed that the whole of them should so revert,
always subject, of course, to the claims of individuals who may have a right to them.
What I
propose in the place of the 89th section, is this:
1. The banks shall, within twenty days after the close
of each calendar year, transmit or deliver to the Minister
of Finance and Receiver General, to be laid by him
before Parliament, a return of all dividends which have
remained unpaid for more than five years, and also of
all amounts or balances in respect of which no transactions have taken place, or upon
which no interest has
been paid during the five years prior to the date of such
statement; provided always, that in cases of moneys
deposited for a fixed period, the period of five years,
above referred to, shall be reckoned from the date of the
termination of such fixed period.
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