Fonds 2002-052 - Nova Scotia Royal Commission on Provincial Development and Rehabilitation

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Nova Scotia Royal Commission on Provincial Development and Rehabilitation

General material designation

  • Textual record

Parallel title

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

2002-052

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1943-1944 (Creation)
    Creator
    Nova Scotia. Royal Commission on Provincial Development and Rehabilitation

Physical description area

Physical description

90 cm of textual records (3 boxes)

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1943-1944)

Administrative history

In June 1942, the Government of Nova Scotia appointed a Cabinet Committee to address problems of rehabilitation and development in the Province. Following the recommendations of this Committee, the Royal Commission on Provincial Development and Rehabilitation was appointed on May 12, 1943 with Robert MacGregor Dawson as Commissioner. The new Commission was to continue the work of the Committee in investigating and reporting upon the natural resources and industries of the Province for the purpose of aiding in the rehabilitation of those discharged from the armed forces, those released from war industries which would close with the end of war, and all others who might seek employment. The Commission was to report on the possibility of expanding existing industries and markets in the province, as well as the creation of new opportunities, with a goal to increase employment in Nova Scotia in general.

The Commission assembled the necessary information using a variety of methods: briefs were secured from several government departments, interviews were conducted with Ministers, deputies and their staff, federal officials were questioned, and formal public hearings were held throughout the province where community leaders were invited to promote existing local industry and speculate about potential resources. After this preliminary work was completed, it was determined that the number and complexity of the subjects required additional assistance from subject experts. In the end, separate reports were prepared by these experts for several principal economic activities and essential services of the province, including Agriculture, Fisheries (Stewart Bates), Forestry, Public Welfare Services (George F. Davidson), Education, Minerals, the establishment of a Research and Development Board (H. M. Tory), Provincial Finance (W. R. Maxwell), Manufacturing, Steel Production (Arthur G. McKee & Co.), Tourism, Electric Power (Alexander Brady), Labour Relations (H. A. Logan), Housing, and Transportation. The Commission also produced brief reports on Weather Forecasting, expanding the Provincial Museum, and establishing a Historic Sites and Monuments Board.

The reports of the Royal Commission on Provincial Development and Rehabilitation were published in 1944.

Custodial history

Scope and content

Consists of records created during the Royal Commission on Provincial Development and Rehabilitation between 1943 and 1944. Several types of records are included, such as research notes, submissions, reports, and correspondence.

Research notes and reference materials are organized by subject and include newspaper clippings, bibliographies, minutes of special committees, memos, briefs, summaries of research, and similar documents.

Submissions and Reports consist of briefs, correspondence and questionnaire responses submitted by community representatives from across the province on their plans for post-war capital projects and how they might benefit from post-war funding.

Commission Correspondence consists of the incoming and outgoing correspondence of R. M. Dawson and other contributors through the course of the Royal Commission. Letters address follow-up questions to information presented in community hearings, general questions posed to subject experts, and administrative matters.

Records identified as personal correspondence include copies of outgoing letters of a personal nature sent by Dawson, as well as Norman Ward, about property, employment, educational opportunities, publications, and administrative matters.

Miscellaneous Papers include requisition forms, invoices, and other items documenting costs incurred through the course of the Royal Commission. Also included is a map of the Atlantic Coast of Canada showing inshore and deep sea fisheries, with distances from principal fishing ports to banks and transportation lines.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

Language of material

    Script of material

      Location of originals

      Availability of other formats

      Restrictions on access

      Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

      Finding aids

      Associated materials

      Related materials

      Accruals

      General note

      Alternative identifier(s)

      Standard number

      Standard number

      Access points

      Subject access points

      Place access points

      Name access points

      Genre access points

      Control area

      Accession area