18. Brigadier-General PALMERasked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the injustice to small tradesmen in the matter of the King's Roll; whether he is aware that although they may have done their best by keeping open the places of their employés who went to the War, through being unable to employ their quota of ex-service men they are disqualified for the King's Roll, and as a result cannot contract for Government work; and can he see his way to remedy this hardship?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAFirms with 20 workpeople or less can qualify for the Roll by employing one disabled man. The position of firms so small that they cannot employ even one disabled man is safeguarded in connection with Government contracts by the authority given to the contracting department to allocate contracts in very exceptional circumstances to employers not on the Roll. The size of the firm is one of the circumstances taken into account.