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488:, social credit's British founder, Douglas did not like Aberhart and did not view his approach to social credit as consistent with its true form. He refused to come. Instead, he sent two subordinates, L. D. Byrne and G. F. Powell. These surrogates were charged with recommending legislation to implement social credit in Alberta. Their first round of proposals, which included measures imposing government control on banks and prohibiting any person from challenging the constitutionality of any Alberta law in court without receiving the approval of the
31:
266:, a virulently anti-Aberhart cartoonist. The day before the election, it ran one featuring a car, labelled "the people", travelling along "Aberhart Highway No. 1" and arriving at a railway crossing. A train, labelled "common sense", was approaching from around the bend, along tracks labelled "fundamental facts". Aberhart leans out the "S.C. Signal Tower" advising the car "All's clear. Don't stop, look or listen."
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publishing of the offending newspaper, of stories by offending writers, or of information emanating from offending sources. The act also required newspapers to print, at the instruction of the chair of the Social Credit Board, any statement "which has for its object the correction or amplification of any statement relating to any policy or activity of the
Government of the Province."
511:. The international press was also cutting: one British paper referred to Aberhart as "a little Hitler". Later commentators have been no more favourable: Finkel calls the act evidence of the "increasingly authoritarian nature of the Aberhart regime", and even Barr, generally sympathetic to Social Credit, calls it "a harsh blow to free speech".
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to make him its first ever staff cartoonist; Cameron devoted himself full-time to the ridicule of
Aberhart. Though Social Credit staffer turned journalistic historian John Barr argues that the media's unswerving hostility to Aberhart may have benefited him politically by allowing him to "depict the
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The major newspapers of the province opposed virtually everything the government did. Virtually every reform instituted was made to sound more draconian than it actually was. The conservative views of the owners and editors often interfered with the objective presentation of news reports, although
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ran a profile that mocked
Aberhart's appearance, taking note of his "vast colorless face" and his "narrow, left slanted mouth with soft, extra-heavy, bloodless lips which don't quite meet and through which he breathes wetly." Finkel, finding fault with both sides of the Aberhart-press feud, states
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The act empowered the chair of the Social Credit Board to require a newspaper to reveal the names and addresses of its sources, as well as the names and addresses of any writers, including of unsigned pieces. Non-compliance would result in fines of up to $ 1,000 per day, and prohibitions on the
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responded to the boycott by asking "Is everyone opposed to the political opinions and plans of Mr. Aberhart to be boycotted? He has invoked a most dangerous precedent and has given the people of this province a foretaste of the
Hitlerism which will prevail if he ever secures control of the
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s coverage of him to be unfair. He frequently attacked the newspaper in speeches around the province, and on April 28 suggested that his followers boycott it and other unfriendly newspapers. The boycott was successful to the extent that it drove at least one newspaper out of business. The
571:. Brown was never actually jailed; the next day, in response to negative publicity from across Canada, the legislature passed another resolution, ordering "the release of Mr. Don C. Brown from custody." In Barr's view, "the government was made to look less ominous than silly."
424:, the one paper of note to show him any support. He formed a company that acquired an option to purchase it, and used his radio program to promote the purchase of shares by Social Credit supporters. The other newspapers criticized him for using what was nominally a
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Aberhart reacted bitterly to the media's hostility. In a
September 20, 1937, radio broadcast, he said of the press "these creatures with mental hydrophobia will be taken in hand and their biting and barking will cease." Four days later, a special session of the
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program to promote stock sales. The plan came to naught, as most Social Credit supporters were too poor to buy newspaper stock, and the only interested buyers were beneficiaries of government patronage, chiefly liquor interests. Even so, the
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perhaps not to the extent that the government claimed. In many cases, the papers simply concentrated on the very real chaos and confusion in government ranks and required few embellishments to make the government look bad.
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press as a mere tool of
Eastern financial and commercial interests", by January 1936 Aberhart was telling the listeners of his weekly gospel radio show that he was "glad there will be no newspapers in heaven."
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historian Alvin Finkel, "attacked Social Credit viciously as a chimera which, if placed in power, would wreck
Alberta's chances for economic recovery." Of the province's major papers, only the
555:, at least temporarily, but Aberhart's fight against the press continued: on March 25, 1938, a resolution of the Social Credit-dominated legislature ordered that Don Brown, a reporter for the
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government. It would have required newspapers to print "clarifications" of stories that a committee of Social Credit legislators deemed inaccurate, and to reveal their sources on demand.
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conditions in the province. It did so against the almost uniform opposition of the news media. Some of the province's major newspapers were loyal to one of the traditional parties: the
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accused
Albertans of voting for "an untried man and a policy whose workings he ostentatiously refused to explain before polling day." American newspapers were less restrained: the
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484:, which consisted of five Social Credit backbenchers charged with supervising a commission of experts. While the initial plan was to have this commission headed by
160:—were critical of Social Credit, as were a number of publications from elsewhere in Canada. Even the American media had greeted Aberhart's election with derision.
531:. This was the first use of the power of reservation in Alberta history, and in the summer of 1938 Aberhart's government announced the elimination of Bowen's
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took up this call, going so far as to offer
Aberhart a full page to lay out his approach in detail. Aberhart refused, on the grounds that he considered the
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expressed its wish that social credit be first tried in "Scotland, or
Ethiopia or anywhere but Alberta." Reaction across Canada was also negative; the
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and three days later would be passed by the legislature on October 4, 1937, during a marathon session which lasted until 12:30 the next morning.
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The relationship did not improve once Aberhart took office. In January 1935, H. Napier Moore wrote two articles for
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a bronze plaque, the first time it honoured a non-American newspaper. Ninety-five other newspapers, including the
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casting doubt on Aberhart's honesty and his ability to follow through on his election promises. The American
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became the official organ of Social Credit, an editorial decision that doubled its circulation.
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Though the act won easy passage through the Social Credit-dominated legislature,
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had forced Aberhart to abdicate a portion of his power to the newly created
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To help combat the negative press, Aberhart resolved to gain control of the
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was the most strident in its opposition to Aberhart and Social Credit, the
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of the act and its companions until their legality could be tested at the
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was created from a revision of this article dated 14 March 2012
186:, the court found that it was unconstitutional, and it never became law.
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called the results "a nightmare that passeth all understanding" and the
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Statute passed by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada, in 1937
206:, running candidates for the first time, won a large majority in the
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attribute this move to revenge for Bowen's reservation of assent.
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An Act to Ensure the Publication of Accurate News and Information
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An Act to Ensure the Publication of Accurate News and Information
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on the strength of promises to use a new economic theory called
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asked "Greetings to the Canadians. Who's loony now?" and the
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584:, along with the others submitted to it for evaluation, was
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The Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of Social Credit in Alberta
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by the federal government. The second round included the
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For its leadership in the fight against the act, the
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Around the same time, the Supreme Court ruled on the
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449:. The bill would be introduced October 1, 1937 by
1141:Law, politics, and the judicial process in Canada
1263:: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
1245:. Archived from the original on August 23, 2006
1000:. Heritage Community Foundation. Archived from
994:"The Premier vs. the Constitution—Significance"
295:, and many smaller papers all, in the words of
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1049:The Good Steward: The Ernest C. Manning Story
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870:"Fifth Session of Legislature Closing Today"
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1090:Bible Bill: A Biography of William Aberhart
1029:. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited.
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406:lured Stewart Cameron away from working on
377:s headline screamed "Alberta goes crazy".
29:
139:, Canada, in 1937, at the instigation of
1213:, and does not reflect subsequent edits.
1088:Elliott, David R.; Miller, Iris (1987).
849:. Lethbridge. October 1, 1937. p. 1
180:evaluated the act's legality. In 1938's
1111:The Social Credit Phenomenon in Alberta
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478:1937 Social Credit backbenchers' revolt
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841:"'We Never Thought This Could Happen'"
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344:, was almost uniformly negative. The
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1243:"The Premier vs. the Constitution"
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1236:Accurate News and Information Act
1073:. Calgary: Detselig Enterprises.
868:Kennedy, Fred (October 5, 1937).
592:Accurate News and Information Act
582:Accurate News and Information Act
553:Accurate News and Information Act
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467:Accurate News and Information Act
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258:Shortly before the election, the
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305:provided even lukewarm support.
1071:Alberta's Revolutionary Leaders
439:Legislative Assembly of Alberta
413:Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
342:Legislative Assembly of Alberta
310:Alberta Social Credit Chronicle
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490:Lieutenant-Governor in Council
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135:) was a statute passed by the
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577:Reference re Alberta Statutes
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1092:. Edmonton: Reidmore Books.
1051:. Calgary: Fifth House Ltd.
445:figuring prominently on its
255:provincial administration."
1147:University of Calgary Press
1117:University of Toronto Press
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569:Workman's Compensation Act
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195:Before the 1935 election
1313:Legal history of Canada
1145:(3 ed.). Calgary:
529:Supreme Court of Canada
355:St. Catharines Standard
178:Supreme Court of Canada
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1171:Listen to this article
1107:Finkel, Alvin (1989).
1025:Barr, John J. (1974).
609:committee awarded the
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1283:1937 in Canadian law
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204:Social Credit League
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174:royal assent
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48:
18:
1249:October 15,
1115:. Toronto:
938:Elliott 278
917:Elliott 273
905:Elliott 272
882:8 September
878:. p. 1
812:Elliott 247
803:Elliott 232
794:Elliott 230
785:Elliott 240
753:Elliott 202
741:Elliott 203
687:Elliott 197
678:Elliott 182
666:Elliott 174
657:Elliott 172
587:ultra vires
539:biographer
471:reservation
447:order paper
326:antisemitic
269:Though the
116:Struck down
1277:Categories
1218:Audio help
1209:2012-03-14
1019:References
1008:2009-10-14
947:Brennan 54
723:Brennan 23
494:disallowed
216:depression
176:until the
50:Long title
983:Byrne 125
776:Finkel 62
705:Byrne 101
696:Finkel 36
547:Aftermath
383:Maclean's
314:Chronicle
1259:cite web
1220: ·
1137:(2002).
1069:(1991).
1047:(2008).
965:Barr 112
929:Barr 109
821:Barr 108
522:reserved
509:Albertan
431:Albertan
422:Albertan
350:Albertan
275:Bulletin
226:Liberals
171:reserved
1207: (
1178:minutes
648:Barr 33
567:in the
457:Statute
328:priest
320:leader
318:fascist
247:Herald'
235:of the
214:to end
113:Status:
1153:
1123:
1096:
1077:
1055:
1033:
629:, and
492:, was
426:gospel
408:Disney
404:Herald
346:Herald
289:, the
283:, the
277:, the
271:Herald
260:Herald
252:Herald
637:Notes
1265:link
1251:2009
1151:ISBN
1121:ISBN
1094:ISBN
1075:ISBN
1053:ISBN
1031:ISBN
884:2020
855:2020
476:The
465:The
402:The
324:and
123:The
410:'s
202:'s
143:'s
1279::
1261:}}
1257:{{
1176:14
1149:.
1119:.
996:.
922:^
910:^
872:.
843:.
767:^
746:^
671:^
625:,
621:,
617:,
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