Hon. Ralph Goodale
Hon. Ralph Goodale
Ralph Goodale's words on Jimmy Gardiner
"Mr. Gardiner became involved in the public life of Saskatchewan in the very early days of the province – before World War I – and he stayed involved until 1958. ...
A long-time member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, Jimmy Gardiner was twice elected Premier of Saskatchewan in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Among his many accomplishments at the provincial level, he was instrumental in confronting the racist-KKK and in the defence of basic human and civil rights.
In 1935, Mr. Gardiner turned to federal politics, becoming the longest-serving Minister of Agriculture in Canadian history (1935 – 1957) ... During his tenure as federal Minister he presided over the rehabilitation of the dryland prairies from the “dust bowl” of the 1930’s. As the original driving force behind the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration, he would be very proud that PFRA today is acknowledged as one of the world’s pre-eminent expert agencies in the field of water and soil conservation and rural development. Perhaps without knowing it, Mr. Gardiner was a pioneering environmentalist – ahead of his time.
Jimmy Gardiner’s outstanding record is part of Saskatchewan’s great heritage. He was elected, first provincially and then federally, for a total of 44 consecutive years. Our province and our country are much the better for Mr. Gardiner’s dedicated and skillful work.
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Ralph Goodale's support
At a post-election Regina-Wascana Volunteers party, on March 30, 2006, in Regina, Mike Gardiner and Ralph Goodale discussed Prairie Giant and the misappropriation of The Rt. Hon. J.G. Gardiner’s persona, the false portrayal of Jimmy Gardiner as a villain, and the general distortion of history throughout the movie. Marg Gardiner then forwarded to Goodale the March 16 letter to Robert Rabinovitch, President of the CBC, and supporting documents which provided more detail.
Thus began Goodale’s involvement with the Gardiner family’s quest to have the CBC cease defamation of character and mitigate damages caused to the reputation of Jimmy Gardiner.
Goodale’s letters of April 28, 2006 and May 8, 2006, provide a strong message on Prairie Giant and the CBC’s role as a public broadcaster.
The March 16 letter from Marg Gardiner to the CBC requests that Gardiner’s name be dubbed out of the movie and replaced with a fictional name. This request was made in consideration of the artistic attributes of the film. In the April 28 letter, Goodale suggests flagging each historical error as it appears in the movie. Although the March 16 and subsequent requests for cessation and mitigation also refer to dubbing, they also acknowledge Goodale’s suggestion.
(The replacement of Gardiner’s name with a fictional name would be less damaging to the visual attributes of the film, and with a full disclosure preface, could salvage the film for entertainment use. The film could also be used as an example of the use and abuse of film media for political science, film, drama, and history students at post-secondary institutions. To correct the many egregious historical errors in the film would be difficult as they relate to medicare, Douglas’ career, and other aspects of Saskatchewan’s history.)
On May 16, 2006, Goodale made a brief statement to the House of Commons regarding the inappropriate portrayal of Jimmy Gardiner. On June 9, 2006, Goodale presented a Recognition Petition to the House of Commons.