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Flood control--British Columbia
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Inspector of Dykes administrative records

  • GR-0972
  • Series
  • 1874-1981

This series consists of indexes to records relating to dyking and drainage held by the Inspector Office, Surrey, B.C. Records include subject file lists of correspondence regarding dyking districts and general administration, 1871-1881; index of maps, plans, topographical maps, etc. regarding dykes and dyking rights-of-way; index of engineers' drawings, Fraser Valley Dyking Board. These file lists and indexes were created between 1974 and 1981, but they make reference to records dating from 1871 to 1981.

British Columbia. Office of the Inspector of Dykes

Report

  • GR-1289
  • Series
  • 1922-1954

This series contains copies of Hydro-electric progress reports in Canada, issued by Canada, Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, Water Resources Division and its predecessor agencies. This mimeographed progress report highlights projects under development in British Columbia and the other provinces.

British Columbia. Water Rights Branch

Working papers and other material

  • GR-1284
  • Series
  • 1951-1954

This series contains working papers, drafts and photographs, 1951-1954, used in the preparation of the illustrated "Water Powers, British Columbia, Canada", 1954 edition which was published by the Department of Lands and Forests, Water Rights Branch, Victoria.

British Columbia. Water Rights Branch

Action on the Columbia

The item is a composite print of an industrial film made around 1964. It shows the construction of the Mica, Duncan and Arrow Dams in the Columbia River basin. Some of the communities in the project area are shown and the problems and benefits are discussed. There is footage of Revelstoke and Trail-Kaslo area, flooding of the Columbia near Trail and aerial views of area communities. There is also footage of the 1964 ratification of the Columbia River Treaty at the International Peace Arch, with US President Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Pearson and BC Premier Bennett.

Power and people

The item is a composite print of a promotional film from ca. 1978. It contains an overview of BC Hydro projects, activities and plans to meet the province's energy needs -- past, present and future. Sequences include: historical footage from 1950s of power plants in the Lower Mainland and the Bridge River development; the Peace River project under construction and now; flood control benefits of the Bennett dam; the provincial power grid; power line right-of-way made available for other uses; new submarine cable to Vancouver Island (late 1960s); Duncan and Keenleyside [Arrow] dams and side benefits [Kokanee spawning channel, Duck Lake waterfowl sanctuary, new beaches on Arrow Lake]; construction at Mica dam site; helicopter transporting transmission tower; crew stringing power lines on Mission Ridge; helicopter patrolling line; crew working on fallen line and tower; possible new energy sources for the future; B.C. Hydro building in Vancouver. "Hydro in Action" is probably a short version of this film.

Kenneth Kiernan interview

The item is an audio recording of an interview with Kenneth Kiernan.

T2665:0001 track 1: Born in 1916 in the Peace River country of Alberta. Details about Kiernan's family and homesteading. Father killed in WW I; mother remarries and they continue to farm. Left Peace River country in 1927. After several stops, settled on a farm at Sumas Prairie. More details about Kiernan's family. Tough economic conditions in the Peace River district. Kiernan's education and work history to 1935. Ends formal education after grade 8. Reading habits as a young man.
Track 2: Took correspondence courses from the Canadian Legion. Leisure activities as a youth: Trail Rangers and basketball. Delivered newspapers in Chilliwack area. "Rode the rods" to the Prairies in 1935. Economic struggles of Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1935-37. Returned to B.C. on the rods in October 1937. Anecdotes about riding the rods.

T2665:0002 track 1: Continuation of anecdote about riding the rods, 1935-37. Marginal economic circumstances of the Kiernan family during the Depression. Worked in Fraser Valley mills. Contracted pneumonia. Worked for Eddy's Nurseries, 1937-40. Joined the New Westminster Regiment, 1940. Interested in Social Credit in Alberta, 1935-37, but not a member. Read works of Marx but rejected them in the 1930s. Critique of Marx and of Canadian economic system in the 1930s.
Track 2: Kiernan in motorized corps in Canada, 1940-46. Eventually became a Warrant Officer II. Not able to go overseas because of previous pneumonia. Comments on military discipline. Kiernan into business as a garage operator near Chilliwack, 1946. Flooded out in 1948.

T2665:0003 track 1: Kiernan describes his experiences in being flooded out during the 1948 flood of Fraser River. Description of his return to the flooded home and service station. Becomes president of local PTA in 1950. Joined Social Credit in 1951. Comments on the Coalition government. Comments on Coalition/Liberal Premier Boss Johnson and Conservative leader Herbert Anscomb.
Track 2: Kiernan becomes very active as a Social Credit organizer, 1951-52. Kiernan takes 1952 Social Credit nomination. Organizational details about Social Credit in Chilliwack. Early meetings emphasized monetary reform. The "Christian image" of Social Credit. The importance of individualism in Social Credit. General discussion of political philosophy. Liberals and Conservatives unaware of the upsurge of Social Credit in Chilliwack. Circumstances under which Kiernan took 1952 nomination. Defeated sitting Conservative Leslie Eyres. Key roles of Alberta Socreds in 1952 election.

T2665:0004 tracj 1: The importance of W.A.C. Bennett in the 1952 election. Kiernan says Alberta influence was minimal ca. 1952. 1952 Social Credit convention. Ernest Hansell as 1952 campaign leader. Bennett disillusioned with Conservatives. Kiernan sometimes "scared" by the vision of W.A.C. Bennett in things such as the two-river policy. Kiernan gives a sample of his 1952 election style.
Track 2: Kiernan's experiences as a public speaker. The hard work of political campaigning. Description of Social Credit cabinet meetings. Kiernan's recollections of election night in 1952. Kiernan went to visit Bennett in Kelowna shortly after 1952 election. The decision is made to have W.A.C. Bennett as political leader, July 1952.

T2665:0005 track 1: Kiernan is selected to be Agriculture Minister in the first Social Credit government. Anecdotes about becoming government. Comments on the Bennett style of leadership. The formation of the first cabinet. Kiernan speculates on the reasons for his selection as Minister of Agriculture. Comments on communist scare tactics used against the C.C.F. Socialist economic planning inappropriate for B.C. Problems with the dairy industry were the first big problems faced by Kiernan in the Agriculture portfolio.
Track 2: The transition to power: early cabinet meetings, help from senior civil servants. Cabinet procedures. The selection of Robert Bonner and Einar Gunderson. Rev. H.D. Francis and Orr Newton resign in order to provide seats. Kiernan downplays the notion that the senior civil service opposed the new government. The firing of Percy Richards. Hospital insurance reforms after the 1952 election. Alternatives to hospital insurance proposed.

T2665:0006 track 1: Facing the problem of hospital insurance after the 1952 election. Building the cabinet team, 1952-53. Discussion of the 1953 session of the Legislature. Socreds maneuvering for defeat? Bennett sure of dissolution? The legislative defeat of Social Credit and the unusual passage of bills prior to dissolution. The "atmosphere" in the House at the time of the 1953 defeat. The resignation of Harold Winch as C.C.F. leader. The 1953 election.
Track 2: Discussion of the 1953 election continued. The defeat of Tilly Rolston and Einar Gunderson. Their importance as cabinet ministers. Gunderson as a member of the Treasury Board. The election of John Perdue as president of the Social Credit League. Issues within the Department of Agriculture: brucellosis control, irrigation, hay shortages. Comments on W.H. Robertson and William McGillivray as Kiernan's deputy ministers.

T2665:0007 Track 1: Kiernan gives background to the Sommers affair. Comments on Gordon Gibson Sr. The "money talks" speech, February 1955. Gibson's charges not substantiated by the Lord Commission. Gibson's charges treated with great skepticism. Kiernan did not see the RCMP report to the Attorney-General's Department. The government has private investigator investigate the charges against Sommers. Sommers a known gambler to Kiernan.
Track 2: More on Sommers' gambling. No pressure from ministers on Bennett to fire Sommers. Sommers called on to account for the allegations by cabinet and caucus. Sommers consistent in his denials. Circumstances surrounding the resignation of Bonner. Kiernan becomes Minister of Mines.

T2665:0008 track 1: Death of Tilly Rolston, 1953. Discussion of Sommers case, continued. Opposition to Forest Management Licences. Sommers' resignation and Kiernan takes over the Mines portfolio, 1956. Robert Bonner and delays in the case. Comments on Mel Bryan who crossed the floor on the Sommers case. More on the delays. Sommers case harms Social Credit government. Kiernan expresses doubts about the guilt and illegal intentions of Sommers. Case did not affect timing of 1956 election. Not aware of Sommers' cabinet contact.
Track 2: No suggestion of impropriety by Sommers in the Mines portfolio. Gifts to cabinet ministers. Sommers investigated by private detective. Kiernan's general observations on the Sommers case. "Politics is war". Kiernan Minister of Mines and Petroleum Resources, 1956-64. The challenge of taking over a new portfolio. Comments on Deputy Ministers of Mines: John Walker, P.J. Mulcahy. The framing of new petroleum legislation. Comments on the B.C. petroleum and gas industry.

T2665:0009 track 1: The development of oil and natural gas leasing systems. Development of the Peace River region. The building of Westcoast Transmission pipeline. Description of Frank McMahon. Comments on foreign ownership of petroleum and natural gas resources. Description of the auction of oil and natural gas leases.
Track 2: The auction system continued. Frank McMahon in the 1960 election. Anecdotes about some B.C. mining executives: Ozzie McDonald, Spud Huestis, Mel O'Brien. The opening of Bethlehem Copper Corporation mine in the Highland Valley. Changes in mining taxation and land tenure systems, c. 1957. Problems of establishing an iron and steel industry in B.C. Vehement industry opposition to changes in mining legislation.

T2665:0010 track 1: Major problems faced as mines minister: taxation legislation, departmental expansion, mine safety. Dispute with federal government over offshore mineral rights. "Political" decision by the Supreme Court of Canada on this issue. The reclamation of mining sites. Kiernan expresses his opposition to the idea of company towns. Taxation on profits vs. royalties in the mining industry. Kiernan concerned about "penny mines" on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Track 2: The formation of the Department of Recreation and Conservation, 1957. Kiernan becomes Minister of Recreation and Conservation, 1963. Anomalies in the classification of provincial parks. Mineral claims and timber leases in provincial parks. The case of Western Mines in Strathcona Park. The role of pressure groups in the Buttle Lake controversy. Preparation for his new portfolio of Recreation and Conservation. General comments on park development in B.C.

T2665:0011 Track 1: Skepticism about the idea of wilderness preservation. The illogic of some park boundaries. The changing of the boundary of Manning Park to facilitate mining. Kiernan's ideas on the multiple use concept. Kiernan's impressions of the B.C. Wildlife Federation, SPEC, Sierra Club. The role of the Sierra Club in the boundary determinations for Pacific Rim National Park.
Track 2: More on the Sierra Club of B.C. W.A.C. Bennett's attitudes on park matters. Public access on forestry roads. The formation of the Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC) in 1969. Comments on the operation of ELUC and the Secretariat. ELUC originally a problem-solver rather than policy-maker. Comments on a few specific issues dealt with by ELUC. Kiernan not convinced of the concept of a single Minister of the Environment. Williston as chairman of ELUC. Land use questions more practical than moral or ethical. "Nature the adversary". The evolution of environmental attitudes in B.C. The minister as an arbitrator of attitudes.

T2665:0012 track 1: Kiernan's efforts to curb the excesses of the "throw-away" society. The Anti-Litter Act. The recycling of derelict automobiles. Deputy Ministers of Recreation and Conservation: Dave Turner, H.G. McWilliams, Lloyd Brooks. Comments on the proposed flooding of the Skagit River Valley. Opposition by the fishing lobby. Benefits of flood control on the Fraser River.
Track 2: Flood control on the Fraser River continued. More comments on the fishing lobby. The benefits of fish versus the benefits of hydro power and flood control. Short term as Minister of Commercial Transport, 1963-64. Minister of Travel Industry, 1967-1972. The formation of the department, 1967. Ron Worley as Deputy Minister of the Travel Industry department. British Columbia tourist promotions. Comments on "The Wonderful World of W.A.C. Bennett". Kiernan's comments on our political society. Comments on the role of socialism in B.C. B.C. still in the frontier stage. General comments on the NDP caucus prior to 1972. Analysis of the B.C. economy. The need for new hydro electric power developments in B.C.

Columbia River Treaty lectures collection

  • PR-2256
  • Collection
  • 1974

The collection consists of audio recordings of thirteen talks on the topic "Perspectives on the Columbia River Treaty", presented at Simon Fraser University from January to April 1974, presumably as part of a course. The speakers include federal and provincial politicians, B.C. Hydro officials, treaty advisors and officials, and Canadian and American academics.

Fish and wildlife records

  • GR-1027
  • Series
  • 1920-1977

The series consists of records created by the Game Commission (1920-1957), the Fish and Game Branch (1957-1966), and the Fish and Wildlife Branch (1966-1977) relating to game, wildlife and fisheries management and conservation; environmental protection and habitat improvement; the administration of fish, trapping, and game laws; ecological and scientific investigations; water license applications and stream obstruction reports; flood control, pollution and protection of stream and river habitat; predator and rodent control; hunting, sports fisheries, outdoor recreation, and parks; Branch policy and administration.

The files contain correspondence, annual reports, manuals, memoranda and special reports and include correspondence with conservation and environmental groups, fish and game clubs, professional organizations of conservation officers, and other agencies of government.

The series also includes a subject file index (see box 2) and an index of orders-in-council relating to game enforcement, 1885-1968; hatchery records of the Cultus Lake, Smith Falls, and Lloyds Creek hatcheries of the Fish Culture Service, administered by the Canada Dept. of Marine and Fisheries (1920-1938) and the B.C. Came Commission (1938-1949).

British Columbia. Game Commission

Sumas land application declarations

  • GR-0312
  • Series
  • 1887-1888

This series consists of declarations in support of applications for land formerly within the limits reserved for purposes of the "Sumas Dyking Act, 1878", for the years 1887-1888. Each declaration is related to one individual. Declarations would have been submitted as part of the process of applying to pre-empt land in the Sumas area.

British Columbia. Lands Branch

Tax assessments and financial records kept by the Inspector of Dykes

  • GR-1988
  • Series
  • 1898-1976

Series consists of tax assessment rolls kept by the Inspector of Dykes for South Westminster, Sumas, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Matsqui, Chilliwack, Nicomen Island, and Nicomen Dyking Districts for 1898-1976 as well as general expenditure journals, voucher records, receipts, and financial statements for 1917-1974.

British Columbia. Office of the Inspector of Dykes

Control of the Columbia River

The item is a composite print of a documentary film made by the US Army Corps of Engineers, ca. 1967. It shows the dams of the Columbia River basin and their vital role in flood control. Includes brief shots in BC near the source of the Columbia, and at the Mica, Arrow and Duncan dams.

Great river

The item is a release print of a promotional film made by the US Bonneville Power Commission. The film is a 1973 revised, updated version of a 1963 film which examines the Columbia River and its watershed. It profiles the dams along the American section of the river and discusses the importance of dams for power production, flood control and creating recreational areas. Most of the footage is of the Columbia in the USA, but there are brief shots of the Duncan, Keenleyside and Mica dam sites in BC (ca.1973).

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