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Authority record

Provincial Mental Home, Colquitz

  • 8457
  • Government
  • 1919-1964

Colquitz is a mental institution which operated from 1919 to 1964, located on Wilkinson Road in Saanich, B.C. It was originally built as a provincial gaol in 1914, known as the Saanich Prison Farm. In 1919, Mental Health Services assumed jurisdiction of the Saanich Prison Farm and it became the Provincial Mental Home, Colquitz, B.C. (or Colquitz Mental Hospital). The mental home was opened on March 25, 1919, with the transfer of nine patients from Essondale (later renamed Riverview) in Coquitlam.. In the next 15 months the population grew to 99 patients. It was used to house the male “criminally insane” inmates of the provincial mental hospitals. All admissions to Colquitz were transfers from Essondale.

The supervisor of Colquitz was under the direction of the Medical Superintendent of Essondale. All patient files were returned to Essondale when inmates died or were released. After its closure as a mental hospital in 1964, the facility once more became a prison, first as temporary accommodation for overflow from the Oakalla Prison Farm and then in 1970 as the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre, popularly known as the Wilkinson Road Jail.

The supervisors of the Provincial Mental Home at Colquitz were:
Granby Farrant Supervisor 1919-1933
F.M. Spooner Supervisor 1933-1941
T.A. Morris Supervisor 1941-1947
L.G.C. d'Easum Medical Superintendent 1948-1953
obituary in Mental Hospitals annual report 1933-1934

BC Rail Ltd.

  • 11881
  • Corporate body
  • 1984

BC Rail Ltd. created on June 19, 1984 as a subsidiary of the holding property British Columbia Railway Company.

Murphy, Harvey

  • 24036
  • Person
  • 1900-1977

Harvey Murphy was a labour organizer in Trail, B.C. He died in Toronto in 1977.

Joint Reserve Commission

  • 313
  • Corporate body
  • 1876-1910

The Joint Reserve Commission was created between the governments of British Columbia and Canada to determine the boundaries of Indian reserves in British Columbia, after several years of dispute. An agreement in principle on the creation of the commission was reached in November, 1875, and the Joint Reserve Commission was officially established in 1876 by federal orders-in-council 444/1876 and 779/1876. It consisted of three commissioners, one was appointed by the Canadian government (A.C. Anderson), one by the provincial government (Archibald McKinley), and a third selected jointly by the two levels of government (Gilbert Malcolm Sproat).

The Joint Reserve Commission operated until 1878 when it was restructured, leaving Gilbert Malcolm Sproat as the sole commissioner of the renamed Indian Reserve Commission. Sproat acted as commissioner until 1880, when he was replaced by Peter O'Reilly who acted until his retirement 1898. O'Reilly was then replaced by A.W. Vowell, until the commission was dissolved in 1910.

In 1913 the commission's work was continued by the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the Province of British Columbia (The McKenna-McBride Commission).

British Columbia. Fish and Wildlife Branch

  • 4108
  • Government
  • 1966-

The Game Commission was established in 1934 and constituted by legislative authority in the following year, replacing the Provincial Game Commissioner. It reported to the Legislative Assembly through the Dept. of the Attorney-General. On April 1, 1957 the Game Commission under the Dept. of the Attorney-General name was changed to the Fish and Game Branch of the Dept. of Recreation and Conservation. In 1966 the Fish and Game Branch changed its name to Fish and Wildlife Branch. The branch was transferred in December 1978 to Ministry of the Environment.

The name of the branch has since changed several times. In the 1980s the Branch was split into the Wildlife Branch and the Fisheries Branch. As of 2022, the two branches have been combined again, thus the Fish and Wildlife Branch continues to exist.

British Columbia. Environment and Land Use Committee

  • 3547
  • Government
  • 1971-

In 1971 the Environment and Land Use Act (S.B.C. 1971, c. 17) established the Environmental and Land Use Committee (ELUC) as a committee of the Executive Council of British Columbia. The committee was to establish and recommend programs to increase public awareness of the environment, to ensure that environmental concerns were fully considered in the administration of land and resource development, and to make recommendations and reports to the Executive Council. The committee was empowered to conduct public inquiries, appoint technical committees, and hire experts, specialists and researchers. It was empowered to conduct public inquiries, appoint technical committees, and hire experts, specialists and researchers. Although little else was done in 1971-1972, the foundation for a full-fledged committee of cabinet had been laid.

One of the first actions of the New Democratic government, elected in September 1972, was to utilize the ELUC structure as the basis of a powerful decision-making body. In May 1973, Robert Williams, Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources formed the ELUC Secretariat headed by a Director with Deputy Minister status and consisting of three sections with a staff of over one hundred. The ELUC Secretariat was the first time in B.C.'s political history that a permanent staff served a committee of cabinet. The Secretariat conducted studies on economic development, made recommendations to cabinet on the rationalization of resource and land use policies and provided information directly to Ministers. By 1975, ELUC had a membership of nine out of a cabinet of nineteen and was the decision making core of the government as far as resource development was concerned. The work of the Secretariat was thus central to all resource and land use policies.

After the formation of William Bennett's Social Credit government in 1975, a formal cabinet committee structure was initiated in all areas of policy. The Environment and Land Use Committee was not part of this structure and the newly formed Economic Development Committee took on the chief role in coordinating resource, environment, and land use policy. Although ELUC was still nominally a cabinet committee, its importance was greatly reduced. The Minister of Environment became the chairman of ELUC and the scope of the Secretariat was diminished. The Secretariat's staff was entirely absorbed by the Ministry of Environment and there were budget cuts. Despite this reduced role, ELUC and its Secretariat were still functioning as a vehicle for advice and recommendations for a coordinated resource development policy.

For most of 1978, the members of ELUC were the Ministers of Environment, Agriculture, Economic Development, Forests, Health, Highways and Public Works, Mines and Petroleum Resources, and Recreation and Conservation. The role of the Secretariat was to conduct integrated resource development planning, policy and procedure studies, to implement impact assessments of major resource developments, and to advise on Agriculture Land Reserve matters.

British Columbia. Environment and Land Use Committee. Secretariat

  • 326
  • Government
  • 1973-1980

The Environment and Land Use Committee Secretariat was established in 1973 as the staff support unit of the Environment and Land Use Committee. The Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC) was established by the Social Credit government in 1971 under the Environment and Land Use Act (SBC 1971, c. 17).

The mandate of the committee was to establish and recommend programs to increase public awareness of the environment, to ensure that environmental concerns were fully considered in the administration of land and resource development, and to make recommendations and reports to the Executive Council. It was empowered to conduct public inquiries, appoint technical committees, and hire experts, specialists and researchers.

The Secretariat was established after the New Democratic government was elected in 1972 to provide recommendations and solutions to the committee by coordinating and analyzing interdepartmental studies. In May 1973, Robert Williams, Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources formed the ELUC Secretariat headed by a Director with Deputy Minister status and consisting of a staff of over one hundred. It was the first time in B.C.’s political history that a permanent staff served a committee of cabinet.

The Secretariat conducted studies on economic development, made recommendations to cabinet on the rationalization of resource and land use policies and provided information directly to Ministers. The Secretariat was organized into three units that operated interdependently to improve and apply integrated resource planning within the regional districts of the province. The units were Resource Planning, Special Projects, and Resource Analysis. By 1975, ELUC had a membership of nine out of a cabinet of nineteen and was the decision making core of the government as far as resource development was concerned. The work of the Secretariat was thus central to all resource and land use policies.

After the formation of William Bennett's Social Credit government in 1975, a formal cabinet committee structure was initiated in all areas of policy. The Environment and Land Use Committee was not part of this structure and the newly formed Economic Development Committee took on the chief Ministers of Environment, Agriculture, Economic Development, Forests, Health, Highways and Public Works, Mines and Petroleum Resources, and Recreation and Conservation. The Secretariat functioned in a diminished role within the Dept. of the Environment and the renamed Ministry of the Environment in 1976.

The role of the Secretariat was to conduct integrated resource development planning, policy and procedure studies, to implement impact assessments of major resource developments, and to advise on Agriculture Land Reserve matters. The Secretariat was reorganized into two units (1) Resource Planning and (2) Special Projects, though there was considerable overlap in project assignments. The "Program Project Briefing Notes," 1978, are the background data on the various ELUC Secretariat studies provided to the Ministries that were members of ELUC. The Environment and Land Use Committee continued as an Executive Council committee but the Secretariat was disestablished in 1980.

British Columbia. Provincial infirmary (Marpole)

  • 14909
  • Government
  • 1912-1965

According to the annual reports of the Superintendent (GR-0277, Box 3/1) the Marpole Infirmary was built in 1912 and opened in 1913 as the Grand Central Hotel. It was established under the administration of the Provincial Secretary as the Provincial Home for Incurables with the passing of legislation in 1922 (13 Geo. 5, chap. 60) and subsequently became the Provincial Infirmary, Marpole under the terms of the Provincial Infirmaries Act in 1937 (1 Geo. 6, chap. 62). The Public Health Branch of the Department of Health and Welfare, assumed the administration of the Infirmaries from 1947 to 1950 when the B.C.H.I.S. accepted responsibility for them although the Provincial Secretary remained by statute the administrator of the institution until the Provincial Infirmaries Act was amended in 1955 (3-4 Eliz. 2, chap. 62). The Marpole Infirmary was closed in May 1965 and patients were transferred to the Pearson Hospital.

British Columbia. Provincial Dept. of Fisheries

  • 124
  • Government
  • 1947-1957

The British Columbia Department of Fisheries had its origins in the establishment in 1901 of a Board of Fishery Commissioners under the authority of the British Columbia Fisheries Act (R.S.B.C., 1901, C.25.) In October 1901, John Pease Babcock took up duties as the first Commissioner of Fisheries "to determine upon a comprehensive system for salmon propagation in the province." In 1902, an amendment to the Fisheries Act designated a member of the Executive Council Commissioner, and Babcock became Deputy Commissioner. in 1936, a separate Department of Fisheries with a separate minister was created.
The Provincial Dept. of Fisheries was established in 1947 with the enactment of the Department of Fisheries Act (SBC 1947, c. 36). Prior to 1947, fisheries was administered by the Fisheries Office, headed by a Commissioner of Fisheries, and reporting to the Attorney-General. Under the Department of Fisheries Act, the minister became the Commissioner of Fisheries and the deputy minister became the assistant commissioner. The department was responsible for all matters relating to fisheries in the province not under the jurisdiction of the federal government. These included salmon propagation research, licensing and regulation of fish-processing plants, collection of revenue, and collection and publication of statistics. The department also participated in joint research with the federal Fisheries Research Board and cooperated with the International Fisheries Commission.

The Provincial Dept. of Fisheries was disestablished in 1957 when administration of the Fisheries Act was transferred to the new Dept. of Recreation and Conservation (SBC 1957, c. 53).

British Columbia. Civil Service Commission

  • 324
  • Government
  • 1917-1973

The Civil Service Commission was established in 1917 under the Civil Service Act (SBC 1917, c. 9). The act provided for a one-member Civil Service Commission reporting to the Provincial Secretary. The first commissioner, W.H. MacInnes, was appointed in 1918. His duties were to administer testing for admission or promotion in the civil service and to investigate and report on the operation of the act within the government departments. A new Civil Service Act (SBC 1945, c. 11) was passed in 1945. It provided for a Civil Service Commission consisting of three members. The name was changed to Public Service Commission with the enactment of the Public Service Act (SBC 1973, c. 143) in 1973.

Civil Service Commissioners

Alexander Naismith Mouat - July 1, 1918 to November 11, 1918
William Hedley MacInnes - November 11, 1918 to April 30, 1926
Arthur Harris Cox - May 1, 1926 to March 31, 1929
Alfred Norman Baker - April 1, 1929 to August 31, 1931
Roger George Monteith - September 1, 1931 to March 31, 1934
Alfred Norman Baker - April 1, 1934 to March 31, 1945
(Chairman) - April 1, 1945 to September 20, 1947
Hugh Mackenzie Morrison - May 1948 to November 30, 1969
Arthur G. Richardson - December 1, 1969 - [?]

British Columbia. Superintendent of Neglected Children

  • 4443
  • Government
  • 1919-

In 1897 the British Columbia legislature adopted the "Guardian's Appointment Act" (61 Vict., c. 96) relating to the custody and care of infants. Further, in 1901, the legislature passed the "Children's Protection Act" (1 Ed. 7, c. 9) providing for the incorporation of Children's Aid Societies and for the appointment of a Superintendent. The Provincial Secretary was charged with the administration of this statute and "An Act to Regulate Maternity Boarding Houses, and for the Protection of Infant Children", passed in the same year (1 Ed. 7, c. 29). This latter act required the registration of houses for reception of infants as well as the registration of every infant in the care of such institutions. In 1911 the "Infants Act" was passed consolidating and amending legislation relating to infants (2 Geo. 5, c. 107). In 1918 the "Infants Act" was amended to provide for a Superintendent of Neglected Children who would, among other duties, make annual reports to the Attorney General. Administration of the Act was transferred from the Provincial Secretary to the Attorney General by section 14 of the Act (8 Geo. 5, c. 36) and the Superintendent's first Annual Report was submitted on 30 November 1920.

First appointed to administer the Infants Act in 1919 and the Mothers' Pensions Act in 1920, the Superintendent was responsible for a brief period to the Attorney-General. In 1923 the administration of the Infants Act was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Provincial Secretary. Mothers' Pensions Act was transferred to the Workmen's Compensation Board.

British Columbia. Dept. of Municipal Affairs

  • 38
  • Government
  • 1934-1976

The Dept. of Municipal Affairs was established in 1934 with the enactment of the Department of Municipal Affairs Act (SBC 1934, c. 52). Prior to that, municipal matters had been administered by a municipal branch of the Dept. of the Attorney-General.

The Dept. of Municipal Affairs was responsible for administration, review and processing of by-laws relative to municipalities, regional districts, and improvement districts; evaluation of administrative practices and procedures, including financial management, of local governments; special programs respecting building regulations; and regional planning processes for municipalities and regional districts.

In 1976, the mandate and functions of the Dept. of Housing and the Dept. of Municipal Affairs were merged and the department was renamed the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (OIC 3199/76).

Victoria and Esquimalt Railway Co.

  • 9586
  • Corporate body
  • 1873

In 1873, the Victoria and Esquimalt Railway was incorporated to build a railroad from Victoria to Esquimalt harbor, contingent upon the choice of the Pacific terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway (BCS 1873, 23).

Beall, Gladys Winnifred

  • 462
  • Person
  • 1889-1977

Gladys Winnifred Beall was a school teacher in Victoria, B.C. She was born in Montreal in 1889 and moved to Victoria in 1911. She began teaching in 1922, first at the Kingston Street School and from 1925 to 1950, she taught at Oaklands. She was active in the Metropolitan Church and "Canadian girls in training" program at that church. She died in Victoria in August 1977 at the age of 87.

Conway, Ed.

  • 831
  • Person
  • [ca. 1841]-1878

Ed. Conway was a telegraph operator with the Grand Trunk Railway Company and was assistant engineer on the Overland Telegraph project in British Columbia. He died in Victoria in 1878.

Ross, Lorne

  • 38528
  • Person
  • 1878-1951

Lorne Ross was born November 26, 1878, in Montreal Quebec. A broker by trade, he married Katherine Helen Ross, with whom he had one son, Kenneth Cameron Ross. He was a member of the Canadian Active Militia as an officer for over twelve years before war broke out in 1914; having served in the 13th Scottish Light Dragoons, 22nd Saskatoon Light Horse, the 29th Light Horse, and the 50th Gordon Highlanders.
Ross was wounded while serving in France in 1915 and was subsequently recalled to Canada, where he was offered command of the 67th battalion, with the responsibility of recruiting and training the battalion at its headquarters at Willows Camp, Victoria B.C. As commanding officer, Ross received widespread recognition for applying his experience from the front-lines in France to the selection of recruits for the new battalion. The newly formed 67th Western Scots departed for overseas service in March 1916. The battalion served in France until it was merged with other units of the 4th Division in 1917. Ross was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Mentioned in Dispatches in 1917.
Ross served until he was officially discharged on January 8, 1919. He returned to his home in Victoria, B.C. where he worked as a life insurance agent until his retirement in 1940. He died in 1951.

Parsons, Thomas William Stanner

  • 8225
  • Person
  • 1882-1960

Thomas William Parsons was Commissioner of the B.C. Provincial Police. Parsons was born in 1882 in Old Charleton, England. He was a police officer who served forces in three countries in the course of his career, including England (as a volunteer with the City of London Artillery and the First Bedfordshire Regiment, 1899-1904), South Africa (South African Constabulary, 1904-1909) and Canada (British Columbia Provincial Police [BCPP]) 1912-1947). He emigrated to Canada in 1909, and after ranching in Alberta for a few years, was hired as a special constable with the BCPP in Peace River, and stayed with the force for 35 years, working in every region of the province and rising through the ranks to become Commissioner in charge of the force. His contributions to the force included reorganizing it into a division-district-detachment plan in 1924, designing the BCPP uniform (also in 1924), and administering the Police Training School (from its beginning in 1929). He retired three years before the dissolution of the BCPP to become administrator of the Queen Alexandra Solarium, and continued to be active in community life as provincial commissioner of the Boy Scouts Association. Parsons died in 1960 in Victoria, BC.

Cameron, Agnes Deans

  • 674
  • Person
  • 1863-1912

Agnes Deans Cameron (1863-1912) was born in Victoria, British Columbia to Jessie Cameron (nee Anderson) and Duncan Cameron. Cameron’s career in education spanned 1879-1906. She became the first female high school teacher in 1891 and the first female principal in 1894 in British Columbia’s public school system. In 1906, controversy ended her career in education and Cameron, already an accomplished writer, began her professional career in writing which focused on promoting the Canadian west. This inspired her to travel from Winnipeg to Herschel Island and back in 1908 with her niece Jessie Cameron Brown. Cameron is most known for her book documenting this adventure, "The New North", which was published in 1910. Cameron died in Victoria of pneumonia.

Agnes Deans Cameron’s parents were both from Scotland. They independently immigrated to Sacramento California, her mother moving for adventure and her father for gold mining opportunities, and this is where they met. In 1860, the Cameron’s moved to Victoria BC to follow the Fraser River gold rush. The family lived in James Bay, at the corner of Birdcage Walk (now Government St) and Superior St. Cameron was the youngest of five children: William, Charles, Margaret (d.), and Barbara who were born in Sacramento and Jessie who, like Agnes, was born in Victoria.

There was no public school system in British Columbia until 1872 and the first high school was opened in Victoria in 1876. Cameron was among the first students to be accepted into the teacher’s training program at Victoria High School when it opened. She taught in British Columbia from 1879-1906, starting her career at Angela College, a private school in Victoria, before moving into the public school system where she taught at rural schools in Port Augusta (now Comox) and Hastings Mill in Burrard Inlet. In 1891, she was hired at Victoria High School where she taught third division, becoming the province’s first female high school teacher in the public school system. Cameron also became the province’s first female public school principal when she was hired at South Park Elementary in 1894.

Cameron was a controversial figure in the public school system and clashed on more than one occasion with education officials. In 1901, Cameron fought the Board of School Trustees on a proposed pay raise for male assistant teacher but not for women. Cameron was featured in the Daily Colonist newspaper speaking out against the proposed wage disparity, however was unsuccessful in preventing it. Cameron became embroiled in public controversy again in 1905 when the students graduating from South Park elementary were accused of cheating in the technical drawing portion of their high school entrance exams. The exam evaluator gave zero marks for all of the drawing books submitted from South Park School. Cameron appealed this decision and was fired for insubordination with her teaching certificate suspended for three years. This decision led to public outcry from Victoria residents and as a result, the board asked for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the issue which was adjudicated by Peter Secord Lampman in 1906. After analyzing the books and questioning the students and witnesses, the inquiry found in favour of the board.

Cameron, who was already an accomplished writer, was able to support herself through her writing. Cameron began writing quite early in her life, writing for her high school newspaper and writing articles for the Daily Colonist and Victoria Times. She published her first short story, "Avatar of Jack Pemberton", in 1903 in the Pacific Monthly. Cameron joined the Women’s Press Club in 1906 and that year attended their annual meeting in Winnipeg. The Western Canadian Immigration Association (WCIA) sponsored part of this conference and took the participants on a trip through Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. After their trip, Cameron was offered a job at the WCIA as an editor of the Canadian West Magazine and she moved to Chicago, where they were located.

Cameron is best known for her book, "The New North", published in 1910, for which she gained international recognition. This book documents her six month trip to Herschel Island and back with her niece Jessie Cameron Brown. They booked their journey through the Hudson’s Bay Company and in 1908 they set off, travelling from Chicago to Winnipeg. From there they travelled to Edmonton by train and continued to Athabasca Landing (now Athabasca) by horse-drawn mail coach. They continued by boat up to Herschel Island in the Beaufort Sea via the Athabasca and Slave River, through Great Slave Lake to the Mackenzie River, then up to the Beaufort Sea. Cameron and Brown took many photographs and collected samples of the local vegetation during their trip. Cameron wrote of her travels, describing in detail the places she went, the landscape, natural resources available, wild life in the area, the people she met, and the industries such as whaling and sealing. Their return trip took them through the Peace River to Fort Vermilion, Peace River Crossing, Lesser Slave Lake, then back to Winnipeg.

In her personal life, Cameron was an avid traveller, athlete, and activist. She travelled to places like Chicago, San Francisco, and the Hawaiian Islands. She became the first female Centurion, cycling a hundred mile course within the specified time limit. Cameron was also an activist for women’s rights, writing articles and giving lectures to fight for women’s right to vote, to equal pay, to enter the same professions as men, and to be recognized as equal citizens. She belonged to many women’s groups such as the Council of Women of Victoria and Vancouver Island, British Columbia Women’s Council, Canadian Women’s Press Club, Ladies of the Maccabees, YWCA, Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, and the National Council of Women of Canada.

In 1912, Cameron was diagnosed with appendicitis and admitted to St Joseph’s Hospital where she underwent surgery, later catching pneumonia. She died a few days later at the age of 49.

Hudson's Bay Company. Fort Simpson (Mackenzie District)

  • 1369
  • Corporate body
  • 1822-

First established as a North West Company trading post in 1803, known as Fort of the Forks, the fort was located near the confluence of the Mackenzie River and the Liard River and abandoned by 1811. The fort was reestablished in 1822 as a Hudson's Bay Company post after the merger of the two companies in 1821. It was named Fort Simpson after George Simpson, Governor of Rupert’s Land.

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

  • 1919
  • Corporate body
  • 1816-present

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation that was founded in 1816 by Eugène de Mazenod (1782-1861), an aristocrat and Catholic priest from Aix-en-Provence, France. During the French Revolution, Mazenod’s family left their wealth behind and fled to Italy, where they travelled around as refugees. At the age of twenty, Mazenod returned to France, where he became more regularly involved in the church and in charity work. Mazenod was ordained as a priest on 21 December 1811, dedicating himself to evangelizing the poor, imprisoned people, and youth.

Officially founded on 25 January 1816 when Mazenod first invited other priests to join him in his work, the OMI congregation was originally called the Missionaries of Provence. Although initially starting with four members, the community of priests expanded in number and in location, and on 17 February 1826, they received formal approval from the Pope. Officially a congregation, the Missionaries of Provence changed their name to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (Missionnaires Oblats de Marie Immaculée). Over time, the OMI expanded their missionary outreach worldwide. Today, Oblates continue to work in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Their motto is, “He has sent me to evangelize the poor” (Evangelizare pauperibus misit me…pauperes evangelizantur).

The OMI’s first foreign mission was established in 1841, when Ignace Bourget, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Montreal, asked Mazenod to send missionaries to Canada. By 1844, ten Oblates were stationed in Canada, and in 1847, five Oblates arrived in what was then the Oregon Country region. Oblate work extended quickly throughout what would later become known as the Province of British Columbia: in 1849, Timothee Limfrit, OMI, built a chapel and school at Fort Victoria; in 1858, Louis d’Herbomez, OMI, established a mission at Esquimalt; and in 1859, Charles Pandosy, OMI, established the Sandy Cove Mission in the Okanagan. More Oblates arrived in the region throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century, and missions were established in New Westminster, the Fraser Valley, Fort Rupert, Williams Lake, North Vancouver, Sechelt, Fort Nelson, Fort St. James, Kamloops, and various other locations. This mission work continued to expand throughout the twentieth century, as Oblates established missions, parishes, schools, colleges, retreat centres, and hospitals throughout British Columbia.

In British Columbia, as in the rest of Canada, a significant portion of the work of the Oblate missionaries was the evangelization of Indigenous peoples. As part of this work, the OMI opened and/or administered ten residential schools in British Columbia. These included:

● Cariboo Residential School (1891-1981): Also known as Williams Lake Residential School or St. Joseph’s, located just southwest of Williams Lake

● Christie Residential School (1900-1983): Also known as Kakawis, located on Meares Island between 1900-1971, then moved to Tofino where it operated from 1971-1983

● St Eugene’s Residential School (1890-1970): Also known as Cranbrook Residential School, located just north of Cranbrook

● Kamloops Residential School (1890-1978): Also known as St. Louis, located in Kamloops

● Kuper Island Residential School (1890-1975): Located on Penelakut Island (formerly called Kuper Island), near Chemainus

● Lejac Residential School (1917-1976): Also known as Fraser Lake School, located at Stuart Lake (1917-1922), and then at Fraser Lake (1922-1976)

● Lower Post Residential School (1951-1975): Located at Lower Post, on Highway #97, just south of the British Columbia-Yukon border

● Sechelt Residential School (1904-1975): Also known as St. Augustine’s, located in Sechelt

● St. Mary’s Residential School (1867-1984): Also known as Mission Residential School, located in Mission

● St. Paul’s Residential School (1899-1959): Also known as the North Vancouver Residential School and the Squamish School, located in North Vancouver

In addition to these ten residential schools, the Oblates administered the Anahim Lake Dormitory (also known as Ulkatcho), funded by the Government of Canada between 1968-1977. The Anahim Lake Dormitory housed children who attended the Anahim Lake Day School.

The OMI Central Government has been located in Rome, Italy, since 1905. Previously, it had been located in France (in Marseilles until 1861, when it was relocated to Paris) and in Liège, Belgium (1903-1905). The central government includes the Superior General, the Vicar General, two Assistant Generals, a number of General Councillors (representing the OMI’s different international regions), a Secretary General, and a Treasurer General. Reporting to the central government are the OMI’s various provincial governments, each lead by Provincial Superiors, which operate in various locations internationally. The Oblate Constitutions and Rules gives each province a great deal of autonomy. Based on civil law, each Province is a separate legal entity.

In Canada, there are currently three OMI provinces: OMI Lacombe Canada (headquarters located in Ottawa), Notre-Dame du Cap (headquarters located in Richelieu), and Assumption Province (headquarters located in Toronto). The structure of Oblate provinces in Canada has changed significantly over the years. Some of the administrative changes relevant to the OMI records held at the BC Archives include:

● 1926 – St. Peter’s Province established

● 1963 – Provincial Delegation of Peru attached to St. Peter’s Province

● 1968 – St. Paul’s Vice-Province established

● 1973 – St. Paul’s Vice-Province becomes St. Paul’s Province

● 1983 – St. Paul’s Province is united with the Vice-Province of Whitehorse to form a new St. Paul’s Province

● 2003 – Reformation of Canadian provinces, leading to the establishment of the OMI Lacombe Canada province

Due to these administrative reorganizations, Oblate missionaries in both British Columbia and the Yukon have reported to the Provincial Superiors of various provinces: St. Peter’s Province, St. Paul’s Vice-Province, the Vice-Province of Whitehorse, St. Paul’s Province, and OMI Lacombe Canada. For a time, Oblates in British Columbia and the Yukon had their headquarters in Vancouver, at the Oblate Provincial House; this location was the previous administrative home to St. Paul’s Province, and later to the BC/Yukon Community of OMI Lacombe Province.

Osithe, Sister Mary, 1867-1941

  • 17435
  • Person
  • 1867-1941

Sister Mary Osithe (1867-1941) was baptized Elizabeth Labossière in Sorel, Quebec, and moved to Marlboro, Massachusetts as a young child. She entered the order of The Sisters of St. Ann in 1894, and her first mission was teaching primary classes in Montreal. Her artistic talent was soon identified and nurtured, and Sister Mary Osithe was named to study art under Sister Mary Helen of the Cross (Marie-Hélèn-de-la-Croix) at the Motherhouse art studio in Lachine.

In 1897, Sister Mary Osithe was called to take over the art department at St. Ann’s Academy in Victoria. There she taught students oils, watercolours, and china painting, and completed numerous secular and religious works herself. She taught art classes at St. Ann’s Academy and Little Flower Academy until 1940. Additionally, Sister Mary Osithe taught art classes to upper-class women in Victoria, and took commissions to bring in money for the order.

Sister Mary Osithe was also a self-taught architect, designing a number of SSA buildings including a gymnasium for St. Ann’s Academy Victoria, the 1921 expansion of St. Ann’s Duncan, and the Foundress Hall at Little Flower Academy.

British Columbia. Government Agent (Revelstoke)

  • 4141
  • Government
  • [1890-2004]

A government agent was first stationed at Revelstoke by 1890. The Revelstoke Agency was part of the West Kootenay district from 1900 to approximately 1920. There was a government agent in Revelstoke until at least 2004.

The government agency system of British Columbia has its origins in the two colonial offices of Gold Commissioners and Stipendiary Magistrates. Over time, the title "Gold Commissioner" became restricted to those officials performing the administrative and judicial duties laid out in mining legislation (Gold Commissioners held their judicial responsibilities until they were repealed by the Mineral Act of 1897). The more general title "Government Agent" was increasingly used for those officials with broader responsibilities and was consistently used to describe these multifunctional roles by the 1880s.

The several functions of a Government Agent are legally separate powers and appointments, which were often, but not always, held concurrently by the same individual. After confederation, Government Agents continued to fulfill a multitude of roles. By the turn of the century, a single agent’s duties could include:

Government Agent, Supreme Court Registrar, County Court Registrar, Sheriff, Gold Commissioner, Mining Recorder, Water recorder, Welfare Officer, Vital Statistics Recorder, Meteorological Recorder, Provincial Registrar of Voters, Federal Registrar of Voters, Game Warden, Land Commissioner, Assessor, Collector of Revenue Taxes, Financial Officer, Marriage Commissioner, Local Board of Health Sanitary Inspector, Cattle Brand Recorder, Maintainer of Government Buildings, Coroner, Gaoler, Constable, and Court clerk.

New functions were added as government services were created. For example, during prohibition, agents issued permits to purchase liquor. They also became involved with the administration of the Motor Vehicle Act by registering vehicles and licensing drivers. By 1900 policing functions were formally removed from Government Agents and transferred to police forces, though they continued to work closely with some police constables, particularly in rural areas, until the BC Police force was replaced by the RCMP in 1950.

Into the twentieth century, the staff in government agencies was growing substantially from one person who fulfilled all government functions, to offices with multiple staff supervised by the Agent.

The location of agencies and the headquarters of each agency where an Agent was located changed over time, based on the movement of population. There were often sub-offices or other outposts throughout a district with other government officials, such as Mining Recorders, who reported to the Government Agent at the district's headquarters.

Agents reported directly to the Provincial Secretary in Victoria until 1917 when they were became part of the Department of Finance, as one of their primary roles was tax collection. Starting in 1920 and increasingly after 1945, the role of the Government Agent was reduced and eroded by the growth of other more specialized and centralized branches of government. For example, Agents provided social services and acted as informal Social Workers by dispensing income assistance and child welfare responsibilities until they were replaced by trained Social Workers in the 1930s.

Into the 1950s the Government Agent in some small communities continued to act as Magistrate, Gold Commissioner, Mining Recorder, Maintainer of voters lists, Recorder of vital statistics and many other duties. However, these roles were increasingly done by representatives of different government branches. The role of Government Agent continues to exist in 2022 as an administrator with limited authority in several communities across the province.

Cowan (family)

  • 856
  • Family

The Cowan family, C.G. and Vivien Cowan, owned the Onward Ranch which was located at 150 Mile House, B.C.

Cornwall, I. E.

  • 848
  • Person

I. E. Cornwall was a naturalist and engineer at the William Head Quarantine Station from 1907 to 1936.

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