| The People of Saskatchewan |
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Calvert's NDP Government Correspondence April 5, 2006 Gardiner to Calvert ________________________________________________________________________ April 5, 2006 Dear Sir, I am writing to you on behalf of my family. We are requesting that you, as a Premier of Saskatchewan and as a member of the clergy of the United Church of Canada, support publicly my family’s plea for mitigation of the defamation of character done to my grandfather, James Garfield Gardiner, through the airing of Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story. Allan Blakeney was one of the first to speak about the inappropriate depiction of my grandfather and other historical shortcomings in the film. Saskatchewan historians have said that the treatment was ‘scandalous’ and his character in the film has been described as a hard-drinking thug. I do not believe there was even one scene in which my grandfather’s character appeared which could have occurred. You know what the people of Saskatchewan have said in the Leader Post, the Star Phoenix, and radio-shows. Beyond the historical problems with the script, the personal attributes assigned to the character with my grandfather’s name are not reflective of my grandfather. My grandfather was a hard working man who was dedicated to his country, his province, his neighbours, and to his church. He was an abstainer who fought for human rights. I believe you must know this. My grandfather played a role in the formation of the United Church and was an active member in the church until his death in 1962. From 1901 to 1911 he was a prairie farmhand and teacher in what was then the NorthWest Territories. From 1907 to 1911 he was a student at Manitoba College where, as a Presbyterian, he was involved with the issue of Church Union. He understood that Church Union was needed for Protestant churches to survive the challenges of the great migration to the sparsely populated northwest of Canada. He helped organise Local Union of Presbyterian and Methodists churches and was Treasurer of the Union Churches for the three prairie provinces. In 1925 he was one of ten delegates who represented the Western Union Churches at the first General Council of the United Churches. As a man who believed in human rights for all ethnic groups, he took hard stands which were not always popular. The KKK burned crosses in Saskatchewan and threatened the life of the person, namely Jimmy Gardiner, whose leadership is credited with driving the KKK from Saskatchewan. For the film to have him as the face of the government that left the dead and dying in the streets of Estevan (Bienfait) was inexcusable. You will also be aware of his conciliatory role during the Regina Riots. The producers, namely the CBC and Minds Eye Productions, initially claimed that the film was well researched. As the inaccuracies and furore in Saskatchewan grew in the past weeks, the protective position of the producers became that as a drama they had creative . . . 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - 2 - licence to do what they wished. In the movie, when they created a ‘bad-guy’ doctor to represent the medical establishment, they gave him a fictional name. When they chose to create a villain for the political muse, they assigned a real name to him, namely Jimmy Gardiner. Creative licence is to allow for the creation of a story and of characters; it is not for destroying a man’s reputation, his legacy. The excuse given on artistic grounds is very weak. If Jimmy Gardiner were alive, the film would be a prima facia example of defamation of character. Although slander and defamation laws do not protect the dead, surely the religious and political leaders of our country should honour our dead and their histories. I understand that the Province of Saskatchewan has facilitated the production of this film in many ways, through part ownership as a major shareholder of Minds Eye Productions, through a financial grant and tax credits and through committing the potential efforts of three noted NDP personalities, namely Shirley Douglas, Roy Romanow and Ed Broadbent. I suggest that your multiple roles as custodian of Saskatchewan’s history, steward of the province’s financial resources, rescuer of the financially strapped Minds Eye Productions (from whence undoubtedly flows a loyalty to your government), and promoter of the NDP have clashed in the support you have given this film. It is not censorship to insist that a man’s history and legacy be respected. If people of faith who understand and appreciate the principles of a Presbyterian teetotaller who dared to stand up for those of other faiths in the period preceding WW II publicly support our opposition to this demonic portrayal of Jimmy Gardiner, perhaps the CBC will listen. Following the airing of the movie, one contributor to the debate suggested “Gardiner is to Saskatchewan what Douglas is to the NDP”. Jimmy Gardiner was not the character depicted in the film. What has been done is wrong. As a premier of Saskatchewan who should be familiar with my grandfather’s legacy, I ask you to look at your responsibilities to promote Saskatchewan, and your commitment to the United Church of Canada, its history and its values. How do you want NDP heroes to be viewed by history? How do you want yourself to be viewed as a politician and as a clergyman? In a nutshell, I ask you to do what is right. Yours truly,
Marg Gardiner ________________________________________________________________________ Gardiner is to Saskatchewan what Douglas is to the NDP
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