arose out of concern for large numbers of homeless jobless single men who did not qualify for relief under the 2 nd Relief Act BC government establishes camps in rural areas away from cities ID: 586368
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Relief Camps
arose out of concern for large numbers of homeless, jobless single men who did not qualify for relief under the 2
nd
Relief Act
BC government establishes
camps in rural areas
(away from cities)
Federal government takes over camps and expands them across Canada –
run by
Dept
of Nat’l
DefenceSlide5Slide6
Relief Camp
Rules…
“To be admitted… must be
single, male, not living at home, healthy and fit, unemployed
, at least 18 yrs. old, and
not a political agitator
Given
free transportation
to the camp
If you
decide to leave
…for any reason except to take a job, you will
not be allowed to return.”Slide7
“On entering the camp, you will receive free:
A set of work clothes
Soap and towels
A bunk bed
Three meals per day
Use of showers, toilets and laundry facilities.”Slide8Slide9Slide10
“You will
work 44 hours per week
on projects such as road building and tree planting
You will be given an
allowance of 20 cents per day
plus 1.3 cents per day for tobacco.”Slide11
“
No committees of camp workers
may be formed. Any complaints must be reported
individually
to the camp foreman.”Slide12Slide13Slide14Slide15Slide16Slide17Slide18Slide19
Complaints of Relief Camp Workers
“The superintendents are …too severe. It’s worse than being in the army!”
“We aren’t supposed to form any committees to try and improve things.”
“The food is lousy!”
“The doctor is never here to take care of the sick and injured. And all the dentist does to any tooth is yank it out.”Slide20
“I don’t think we should be
denied the right to vote!”Slide21Slide22Slide23Slide24
Demands…
“work and wages at
minimum 50 cents per hour
…
…work to be on the basis of a
five-day week
,
six hour working day
, and minimum
20 days work
per month…
All
workers…covered
by Compensation Act…adequate first aid supplies on all relief jobs…
…camps taken out of the control of Dept. of
Defence
…”Slide25
“…a genuine system of …
unemployment insurance
[be provided]….
democratically elected committee
of relief workers be recognized by the authorities…
….all workers be guaranteed their democratic
right to vote
…”Slide26
On-To-Ottawa!Slide27Slide28Slide29
Trek Timeline…
May 30:
Trek leaves Vancouver: “riding the rods”
June 6
– Trek arrives in Golden BC – townspeople offer support
June 12
– Trek arrives in Moose Jaw SK – more expressions of support
Trek arrives in Regina SK – trek grows to more than 5000 ridersSlide30
June 16:
PM Bennett issues orders to stop the trekkers:
“…an organized effort on the part of various Communist organizations…to effect the overthrow of constituted authority in defiance of the laws of the land.”
Trek leaders continue to Ottawa to meet with Bennett – return with no concessions from the governmentSlide31
July 1:
Dominion Day-
500 trekkers
gather in downtown Regina for
speeches/protestSlide32Slide33
The
Regina Riot…
RCMP armed with baseball bats attempt to arrest speakers
riot ensues
RCMP eventually encircles trekkers
RCMP sets up machine gun at entrance to trekkers’ camp
40 trekkers wounded Slide34
1 killed
Charles Millar
Off-duty police officer
Who killed him?Slide35
Aftermath…
1000 trekkers jailed
6 trek leaders imprisoned – several deported
membership in some unions made illegal
a
nd yet…Slide36
Bennett’s “New Deal”
Bennett’s plan for 1935 election campaign
Bennett promises:
Health and unemployment insurance
Maximum work week
Financial assistance for farmers
Economic Council of Canada to advise gov’t Slide37Slide38
BUT…
Many Canadians disillusioned
BOTH of Canada’s political parties (Liberals and Conservatives) unable to end Depression
Capitalism failing to make many people’s lives better, so…
Search for alternative (more extreme?) ideasSlide39
New Political Parties…
List
the names of the 3
new
Canadian political parties
that
formed during the Depression
b
) For each party, identify its
leader
AND
briefly
describe
its
main ideas
(
ie
.
its
“
platform”)