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'"Now, let us turn to the British North America Act. Section 91 of the British North America Act assigns to the Dominion Parliament legislative jurisdiction cver all matters not as-- signed exclusively to the Legislatures of the Provinces, and over those classes of subjects expressly exempted in the enumeration of subjects assigrned ex-- clusively to the Provinces. "It is thus to be observed," the Attorney--Gencral continued, "that all three companies with whom the Com-- mission now have agrcements have contracted to deliver: one ten fost within the Provincial boundary, and the other two at the Provincial boun-- dary. And I may further add that the Hydro--Electric Power Commission is also a body corporate, the creation of the Legislature of the Province of On-- "My first general proposition is that these companies, created and brought into being by the Provincial authority cannot do what the Legislatures themselves cannot do. That need: little argument. A Legislature cannot confer power which it deoes not itsolf "Now in Section 92 of ths British North America Act, legislative juris-- diction is assigned to the Provin:ial Legislatures over locsal works and undertakings, other than such as are o fthe following classes: (a) Lines of steam or other ships, railways, canals, telegraphs and o'her works and undertakinss connecting the Provinces, or extonding beyond the limits of the Province." "2, I have further pointed out that the Beauharncis Light, Heat and Power Company was incorporated by act of the Province of Quebec in 1902, and that it has contracted to deliver power at the boundary between On-- tario and Quebec. Company Powers Limited. "3. I have further pointed out that the James Maclaren Company, Lim-- ited, has contracted to deliver power to the Province of Ontario at the in-- terprovincial boundary, there connect-- ing with the lines of the Hydro--Elec-- tric Power Commission. Mr. Roobuck prepared to deliver his climax.> "I submit to this House," he said, "that all thrce of these con-- tracts are not only outrageous and lx;e'gultable. tut illegal and unonforce-- able." They involved, he held, the con-- struction of the works and undor-- takings connecting one Provincs with another, or extending beyond th© limits of a Province. He was sup-- ported in his opinion by a man whom he described as one of Ontario's best constitutional lawyers, Major Lewis Duncan, K.C. *'Nor is my proposition unsupport-- ed by decisions in the courts." said Mr. Roebuck. Ths Through Traffic Case (1912), A.C. 333. and the case re Alberta Railway (1915) A.C. 363. were cited. '"'The decisions in these cases." sait Mr. Rcebuck, "are that the effect of the section of the BN.A. Act which I have quoted is to transfer jurisdic-- tion over the subject matter men-- tioned to the Dominion Parliament and to expressly except it from Pro-- vincial jurisdiction." Wide Interpretation. The courts, he said, had given a wide interpretation to the clauses in question of the BN.A. Act. Telec-- "I would direct the attention of the House to the judgment of the Privy Council in re Regulation and Control of Radio Communication in Canada (1932), A.C. 304, at pp. 315--316. Radio broadcasting has been held to be an undertaking connecting one Province with ancother Province and extending beyond the limits of the Province. *"In that case Viscount Dunedin made use of these words: 'Now a message to be transmitted must have a recipient as well as a transmitter. The message may fall on deaf ears, but at least it falls on ears.'" graphs were mentioned, but it had been held that telephone companies are as much within the express ex-- ception as a telegraph company. Mr. Roebuck referred to Toronto v. Bell Telephone Company (1905), A.C. 52. page 57. L. ~ "The power of a Local Legislature to incorporate a company with power to connect its power lines with those of a company in another Province was discussed in Hewson v. Ontario Power Company (1905), 36 SC.R. 596, at pp. 606--7, in which it was held 'that such power resided in the Do-- | minion -- Parliament. Mr. Justice | Davies made use of these words: 'The | jurisdiction of the Legislature of On-- | tario is limited to the incorporation ; cf companies with Provincial objects | only, and such legislation could not ' confer on a company incorporated by them such extensive powers as are conferred on this respondent com-- | pany. . . . The undertaking of the | company is not simply to generate | power, but to supply such power "to 'mamuac;urcrs. companics and pe:-- | sons for use in manufacturing or any | other business or purpose. . . . "The objects of the company contemplate possible extension beyond the limits of our Province, and it is, therefore, _ "It's beyond the legislative juris-- | diction of the two Provinces," Mr. |Roebuck maintained. That was true if Gatineau delivered power ten feet | inside of Ontario. Even if it was | dolivered on a theoretical centre line 'on the boundary, "they are within | Dominion jurisdiction and not within the capacity of Legislative agreements." | The Commission is under still fur-- | ther disability, the Attorney--General | held. saying: ' "It is limited by the | wording of its own act of incorpora-- | tion. The authority under which the \ Commission acted is contained -- if | authority it be--in Section 8 (d) of the Power Commission, which follows: | "The Licutenant--Governor--in--Council | upon the report of the Commission | recommending the same, may author-- | ize the Commission to contract with | any person gencerating, transmitting | or distributing electrical power or | energy, or proposing to do so, to supply , electrical power or energy to the Com-- | m'ssion.' Getting down to the meat of the matter, the Attorney--General referred " 'Provincial charters are defined by the British North America Act, as mat-- ters of a local or a private nature not connecting the Province with any other or others of the Provinces, and "not extending beyond the limits of the Prcvince."' "Beyond Legislative Jurisdiction. "In view of the general limitations of Provincial authority," he said, "I am of the opinion that that clause ecnferred power on the Commission to purchase power delivered within the Province and not from without. This, I suggest to you, was what was in the mind of Mr. Osler when he advic:d Mr. Graustein to change the agrsment so as to bring Gatineau pow>r ten feet within the interprovin-- clal boundary." The companics, and in particular the Gatineau Company, were, in his opinion, under still greater disability. Rocbuck Cites Act. "According to the returns of the | Gatineau Company, filed in the of--| lice of the Provincial Secretary, and | irem the Ottawa telephone directory. | this company has an office or place of | business in Ontario, and it has not! taken out an extraprovincial cor-- porat'ons license. March 2 |\ *"The second purchase," the At-- torney--General said, "was also from \ the Gatineau Power Company of 60,-- «000 horsenower, with an option on a further 40,000 horsepower of 60--cycle energy, Obtained for the Eastern sys-- tem at an annual cost of $1,500,000, and entered into in December, 1927, for forty years--renewable for a fur-- ther forty years at an approximate | price of $14.50 per horsepower. the _ Extraprovincial Corporations Act, R.S.O0. (1927), c. 219, as amended (1933), c. 59, s. 22 (3): 'No extrapro-- vincial corpcration coming within class 8 or 9 shall carry on within On-- tario any of its business unless and until a license under this act so to dn has been granted to it, and unless such license is in force; and no com-- pany. firm, broker, agent or other per-- son shall, as the representative or ageont of, or acting in any other capacity for any such extraprovin-- cial c--rporation, carry on any of its business in Ontario unless and un-- til such corporation has received such license and unless such license is in force "In my opinion, the transmigsion and delivery of power in Ontario is carrying on business within Ontario. and if so, while it remains unlicensed by Soctions 15 and 17 of the act, is shali not be capable of maintaininz any action or other proceeding in any court in Ontario in respect of any contract made in whole or in part within Ontario in the course of or in conncection with business carried on contrary to the provisions of saiq Section 6. j Rocbuck Reviews Contracts-- The Attorney --Gcnosral continued his review of the contracts yester-- day before he qdelivered his decision The first power purchass, he re-- capitulated, had been made for thirty years with no right of renewal. Mr. Roebuck stressed the words -- "no right of renewal." Then followed the Aird--O'Brien purchase of the Caletta and Calabogic plants and the undeveloped power on the Madawaska and the Mississippi Rivers, with a developed capacity of 7,400 horsepower and 85,000 horse-- power, undeveloped, at a purchase price of $1.850,000--the $50.000 being for John Aird Jr. This was entered into nn May 31. 1929." In Junre, 1929. there was the first evidence of a slowing up of "the in-- créase in power sales." "Thes> things." said the Attoerney-- General, "are indications of coming troukle--the cloud on the horizon." October had brought the great stock market crash. "Thereafter no sane and cautious business man went into serious commitments." '"On Nov. 29, 1929, in the very face of these danger signals, the Hydro-- Electric Power Commission of On-- taric entered into an agreement with the Beauharnois Light, Heat and Power Company for the purchase of 250,000 horsepower at $15 per horse-- power, or $3.750,000 per annum, for a period of forty years. The power to be delivered at the interprovincial boundary, and to be transmitted thence, at a cost estimated in 1928 at $18,000,000." No Renewal Secured. '"'There was no right of renewal," Mr. Roebuck noted again. The Que-- bee lease to Beauharnois was for seventy--five years, when said power and lands were to be returned to the lessor. "The pericd of the lease is seventy-- five years, so that at the end of that period, if the Commission is still "Let me read you Section 6 (1) of