| The People of Saskatchewan |
NDP Government
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Calvert's NDP Government Premier and Reverend Lorne Calvert’s NDP Government is more than culpable in the defamation of the Rt. Hon. James Gardiner through the creation of Prairie Giant. Besides being, along with Shirley Douglas, a key instigator and motivator of the movie, the NDP Government carries responsibility for the continued existence of Minds Eye Productions, the maestro of the Giant production. Prairie Giant was one of Calvert’s Centennial projects. It was to be a gift, a “legacy to future generations”. His glib initial response to reporters in the days following the airing of the movie indicates that he knew all too well what the movie had done to Gardiner. Although Kevin deWalt has explained his abysmal lack of knowledge of Saskatchewan’s history (LINK to be created- under construction), Calvert can have no such excuse. Calvert was born and raised in Moose Jaw and received his post secondary education at the University of Regina (Economics) and the University of Saskatchewan (Theology). As a member of the United Church clergy, he would be aware of the United Church’s history and the Union Church movement of the early twentieth century, centered in Saskatchewan, which led to the creation of the United Church of Canada. Jimmy Gardiner’s involvement in this movement was well known. In the Romanow government, Calvert was Minister of Sask Power, the Crown Corporation that was created through a decision made by Jimmy Gardiner in 1928. Saskatchewan Corporations Branch Corporate Registry, as of April 18, 2006, details part of the involvement of the Calvert government in Minds Eye Entertainment Ltd., the corporate body of Minds Eye Productions (Corp Reg # 101018715). One of three Directors is Heather Collins, whose address is the mailing address of Investment Saskatchewan Inc. Investment Saskatchewan Inc. is also identified as a shareholder with: 1.5 million, or 16% of, Class A shares; 3 million, or 50% of, PREP shares; and 2.15 million, or 22% of, Creditor shares. Each of these categories of shares has voting rights. Direct investments in Minds Eye, apart from financing contributions to the movie, include: $4.5 million ‘investment’ in July 2001 (purportedly 15% share of equity); and a further $2 million ‘investment’ ($1.125 million advanced by end of year) on December 18, 2002. This investment was followed, 13 days later, by a write down of the $4.5 million to $500,000. Submissions by Minds Eye to its other partners projected a $500,000 direct contribution by the Calvert government to the Tommy Douglas movie. In August, 2004, a staff member of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Recreation stated in a briefing note “… any support outside the provisions of existing programs and policies would be subject to negative scrutiny. It would create significant precedents for other film projects and [would] have an impact on the credibility of the results of the film review”. By December of 2004, the Government had created a ‘legal’ way to fund the film through its Centennial Projects funding. An Order-in-Council dated February 15, 2005 commits to an agreement which also carries a date of December 10, 2004. This Order provides for $614, 400 in direct funding which, with the tax credits, meant a $1.8 million financial commitment by the Province. Discussions about the creation of a Tommy Douglas movie occurred in 1999, and may go back further. The funding of Minds Eye Productions and the Tommy Douglas movie has been a topic of debate between Calvert’s NDP Government and the Saskatchewan Party. Following the CBC’s airing of Prairie Giant, Premier Calvert, Minister of Culture, Youth and Recreation Glenn Hagel and Minister of Learning Deb Higgins, have all been involved in the controversy. Their public comments have shown disrespect for Saskatchewan’s history and, in the case of Hagel, an acknowledged ignorance. The correspondence and other documentation surrounding the Prairie Giant attest to their culpability with the continuing defamation of Jimmy Gardiner’s reputation and mis-appropriation of his persona. But, on the bright side for Premier and Reverend Calvert and his Ministers, they have been credited on the film as contributing to its production. Their names will be on the screens in Canada’s schools. Gardiner is to Saskatchewan what Douglas is to the NDP
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